HOME DEPARTMENT

Immigration: Married People

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date her Department's policy was changed so that applicants to enter, remain and settle in the UK on the basis of marriage and civil partnerships who were refused were referred to the right of appeal rather than being granted a review of their case.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency implemented its reconsiderations policy, and published it on its website, on 13 November 2012. The policy states the limited circumstances in which the UK Border Agency is prepared to reconsider casework decisions, including decisions on applications to enter, remain and settle in the UK on the basis of marriage and civil partnerships.

London Crime Reduction Board

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to attend meetings of the London Crime Reduction Board; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Procurement

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which private sector companies hold contracts with her Department; and what proportion of total procurement each such contract represents.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 29 January 2013
	The Home Department has contracts with the third party suppliers set out as follows in the financial year 2012-13:
	Suppliers holding contracts with the Home Department in FY 2012-13:
	B-N Group, Specialist Aircrew Ltd, PremiAir Aviation Services, Police Aviation Services SIB
	192.com (ICD Publishing)
	3M
	3M Cogent Inc., UK
	3MSP & S
	ABP connect
	Accor Services
	Action Handeling
	Acumen Consortium (Amtec)
	Adare
	Adecco
	Adoption Counsellor (Gill Lee)
	Advantage Technical Resourcing
	Airwave
	Airwave Solutions Ltd
	Allen Lane
	Allstar
	Alpine Consulting
	Alteria Consulting
	Amanda Cowan Associates
	Amey Business Services Ltd, Interserve
	Amey Community Services
	Angel (London) Ltd
	Ann Marie Pugh Ltd (AMP)
	Annabelle McMillan
	Annes Gate Property
	Appollo Cleaning Service Ltd
	Arc Legal Assistance
	Arnold Clark
	Arqiva
	Arqiva Ltd
	ASE/Sogeti
	ASE Consulting
	Ashridge Consulting Ltd
	Asperity
	Atkins Limited
	Atos
	Atos Origin
	Autoscan
	Avanti, formerly Shell
	Aviva
	AXA ICAS
	BAA (LHR)
	Babcock Marine and Technology Ltd
	Babcock Nuclear Services Ltd
	Badenoch and Clark
	Baker Tilley Tax and Accounting Ltd
	Bang Communications Ltd
	Banner
	Banner Business Supplies
	Barclaycard
	Barts and London NHS Trust
	Beaver Group
	Biffa
	Bramshill Sports and Social Club
	Braun
	Brightsolid
	Brijot Imaging Systems Inc
	British Standard Institution (BSI)
	British Telecommunications Ltd
	Broadcasting Support Services
	Brook Street
	Brook Street and Hays
	Bruel and Kjaer UK Limited (106810)
	BT
	BT/DFTS
	Bunzl
	Buying Solutions
	BYG
	BYG Systems Ltd
	Caada
	Cable and Wireless
	Cable and Wireless Worldwide
	Cable and Wireless
	Calder Conferences Ltd
	Calders Conferences
	Callcredit Limited
	Camden Creative Ltd
	Canon
	Canon UK Ltd
	Capita
	Capita (Affinity)
	Capita Business Service Ltd
	Capita Group
	Capita Hartshead Limited
	Capita HR Solutions
	Capita IT via SPRINTii Framework (SCC)
	Capita Resourcing
	Capita Secure Information Services, Ultra Electronics, Damovo UK Ltd
	Careline
	Carlson Wagonlit Travel
	Cartus
	Catch 22
	CBJ Business Psychologists Ltd
	CDS
	Certes Computing
	CESG
	Chelton
	Chubb Systems Ltd
	City Cabs
	Clearsprings (Management) Ltd
	CNLR Ltd
	Cobham
	Cobham Tactical Communications and Surveillance Ltd
	Computacenter
	ComputerShare Voucher Services
	Comscore
	Concateno
	Concerto Consulting
	Corprotex
	Corven
	Courts Advertising
	Cranfield University
	Crescent Machinery
	Cripps Harries Hall
	Crown Relocations
	CSC
	CSC Computer Sciences limited
	Culligan International
	Cyclescheme ltd
	Darbey Valeting
	DE LA RUE
	Deloitte LLP
	Denly Praill Editorial and Design
	Detica
	Development Partnership
	DHL
	Digital Outreach Ltd
	Drivers Jonas Deloitte
	Drysdenfairfax solicitors
	DTZ Debenham Tie Leung
	DTZ Ltd
	Eamus Cork Solutions
	ECC
	ECCTIS Ltd (T/A UK Naric)
	Eden Springs
	Edenred
	EDF Energy
	Elan Computing
	Enacta Ltd
	Enterprise
	Enterprise LTD
	Equifax
	Equifax Ltd
	Ernst and Young
	Eversheds
	Evolve Business Consultancy
	Excel Recruitment LTD
	Experian
	Experian Ltd
	Experis
	Expotel Hotel Reservations Ltd
	Factiva
	Faraday Tracing Bureau Ltd
	FCO Services
	Fideliti ltd
	Field Fisher Waterhouse and Mills and Reeves
	Filebase
	Final Draft Publishing
	Finsoft Financial Systems
	First Forensics
	Focus Europe
	Frameworks (Ltd)/Glasgows/NYS CORPORATE LTD/BSI Olive 360/Ontrac 360/The Live Group/M-is/Roundex/RPM/Warrens Displays/TRO Group/Crystal Interactive/Event Technologies/TwoFourGroup
	FSS(Scenesafe)
	Fujitsu
	G4S
	Gartner
	Gas Data
	Gas Measurement Instruments
	Gatenby Sanderson
	Gatensby Sanderson
	Gatwick Airports Ltd
	GE Security
	GEO
	G-Learning
	Greenworks Solutions Ltd
	Grey Matters
	Group 4
	Group 4 TEC
	GVA Grimley
	Halfords
	Hays Specialist Recruitment
	Hays Specialist Recruitment LTD
	Hayward Aviation Ltd
	Healix
	Hewlett Packard Ltd
	HML
	Hogg Robinson
	Hogg Robinson (Travel) Limited
	Hutchinson Ports
	IBM
	IBM UK Limited
	ICO
	Imperial College London
	iMPOWER
	Inchcape
	Independent Trustee Services Limited
	Infor Global Solutions
	Information Processing Limited
	Institute Of Licensing
	Interactive Intelligence (ININ)
	Interserve Facilities Management
	Interspiro
	IPL (information processing limited)
	Iron Mountain
	John Bosnall
	Jomast Ltd
	K International
	KCOM Group LPC
	Kelly Services
	Kent Top Travel
	Key Forensic Services
	Knight Frank
	Knowledge Advisors
	Kodak
	KPMG
	KPMG LLP
	Krauss Maffei Wegmann (107339)
	L and A Consultants
	LA International
	LA International Computer Consultants Ltd
	Latimer
	Laura Richards, Gaynor Mears, Frank Mullane, STADV, AVA, CAADA
	Lex
	LGC Standards/Key Forensics
	Liberata UK
	Linda Zealey
	Logica
	Logica plc
	Logica UK Limited
	London-Risk
	MAA Plc
	Magnetic IT Ltd
	Mapeley ABI Provider Ltd
	Martin Allnutt
	Mendas
	Men's Warehouse t/a Dimenions
	Mercer Limited
	Methods Consulting
	Methods Consulting Ltd
	Metropolitan Support Trust
	Michael Charles Featherstone Dilke
	Michael Page International
	Microcopy Systems
	Mitie
	MM Teleperformance (Contact Centre)
	Monarch
	Morgan Hunt
	Morpho Detection UK Ltd
	Mortality Manifest Ltd
	Motorola
	MSB International
	National Health Service Information Centre
	National Windscreens (Replacements) Ltd.
	Nationwide Transport Breakdown
	Navigator Research, Planning, Communication Ltd
	NCC
	NES IT
	NET Éclair
	North West Consortium
	Northgate Information Solutions UK Limited
	Northrop Grumman
	Novus Environmental
	Novus T/A Vetspeed
	Nuctech
	Nutall Packing Ltd
	Nuvia
	NYS Corporate Ltd
	OCS
	October Sun
	Odgers Berndston
	OfCom
	Office Depot
	OPM
	OPS Ltd
	Oracle
	Orchid Cellmark
	P&O Ferries
	Parcel Force
	Parity Group Plc
	Paul Roscorla and Associates
	Penna
	Peter Brook
	Photo Me
	Pitney Bowes
	Plassdata
	Point to Point
	Pomme Rose Ltd
	Post Office Cash Collection
	Post Office Limited
	Premier Partnership
	Price Water House Copper
	Price Western Leather
	PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
	Princes Dock Development Co. Ltd
	Priority Properties North West Ltd
	ProcServe Ltd
	Projectlink Motivation Ltd
	Pro-Tect Systems Limited
	Prudential Distribution Limited
	Qbase
	Qinetiq
	Quotium
	Rachel Frost Ltd
	Radian6
	Radisson Blu Hotel East Midlands Airport
	Railex
	Randstad (Walker Cox)
	Rapiscan
	Raytheon
	REDFERN
	Redhouse Lane
	Red-M Wireless Ltd.
	Reed Employment
	Reed Specialist Recruitment
	Reliance
	Remploy Limited
	Remploy Ltd (106751)
	Road Safety Support Ltd (RSS)
	Rock Kitchen Harris
	Roffey Park
	Roke Manor
	RolePlayers
	Royal Mail
	Royal Mint
	RPMI Limited
	RSM Tenon
	RSM Tenon - Risk Management
	Rufus Leonard
	SAIC
	Sand Resources
	SAP UK Ltd
	Sapphire
	Saville Consulting UK Ltd
	Savox
	Saxton Bampfylde Ltd
	SCC
	SCC/Recipero
	Scott Associates
	SCS Limited (105852)
	Securicare International
	Sequeli Ltd
	Serco
	Serco Ltd
	SFW
	Siemens
	Siemens Enterprise Communications Ltd
	Sigma
	Skills for Justice Awards
	Smiths Detection
	Smiths Detection International UK
	Sodexo Motivation Solutions UK Ltd
	Sodexo Property Services
	Softcat Ltd
	Software Europe
	Specialist Computer Centres
	Specialist Computer Centre
	Specsavers
	Spring Group
	SSG
	Steria
	Steria Limited
	Strapex
	Streamline
	Sudus Management Consultancy
	SWETS
	Synectics
	T&S International
	Tactical Safety Responses Ltd
	Tenboss
	Thales
	Thamesdown Recycling
	Thatcham Automotive Acadamey
	The Big Word
	The Channel Tunnel Group
	Thermo Electron Corp
	TNS BMRB
	TNT
	Todd Research
	Touchstone Group
	Tracesmart Limited
	Tribal Consulting
	Tribal Ltd
	Trish Longdon Associates
	Triumph Furniture
	Trodat
	Trustmarque
	Trustmarque Solutions
	UKCT
	Ultratec Ltd
	United Property Management Ltd
	Universal Security Services
	University of Sheffield
	Vector Command Limited
	Vega Consulting Ltd
	Venn Group
	Veredus
	VF Worldwide Holdings Limited
	Vistar
	Vodafone
	Vordel XML
	WA Products
	Wagtail
	Warwick University Business School
	Wates Interiors Ltd
	Williams Lea
	Wilsons
	Working Health
	Worldplay
	Wragge and Co LLP
	Wyboston Lakes
	Wyse Solutions
	Xafinity Paymaster
	Xerox Finance
	Xicon
	XMA
	Y People
	Y&H Consortium
	To provide the proportion of total procurement each such contract represents could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 887W, on publication, if she will place a copy of the staff magazines for (a) her Department, (b) the Identity and Passport Service, (c) the Disclosure and Barring Service and (d) the UK Border Agency and the Border Force in the Library.

James Brokenshire: I have today placed the latest versions of the requested staff magazines in the Library of the House.

TREASURY

Capital Allowances

Simon Hart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will include new build agricultural barns and other structures in the list of annual investment allowance qualifying expenditure.

David Gauke: In the autumn statement the Government announced a temporary ten-fold increase in the annual investment allowance (AIA) to £250,000 from 1 January 2013 to support investment in plant and machinery by small and medium-sized businesses. The announcement made no changes to the list of qualifying expenditure. The Government keeps all tax policy under review.

Carbon Sequestration

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the Government's commitment to make £1 billion available in capital funding for the UK carbon capture and storage commercialisation competition; and for what reasons that funding is not referred to in his Department's 2012 infrastructure and construction pipeline data.

Sajid Javid: Government has allocated £1 billion of capital funding to support the commercialisation of carbon capture and storage (CCS). The CCS programme is mentioned in the infrastructure and construction pipeline data without an ascribed value, given the ongoing competition. A competition is running to determine the best way to support CCS commercialisation. We will provide details of the outcome of the competition, including on how any resources provided through contracts for difference will be available, in due course.

Exports

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average economic export output was in (a) each region and (b) South Yorkshire in each of the last five years.

Sajid Javid: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes estimates of regional trade statistics on a quarterly basis. On 6 December 2012 they published estimates for 2012 Q3. The following table shows the total value of exports of goods attributable to the countries and regions of the UK for 2007 to 2011.
	
		
			 Value of goods exports at a national and regional level 
			 Value of exports (£ billion) 
			 Country/region 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 England      
			 East 19.8 22.2 20.4 22.7 27.6 
			 East Midlands 15.2 15.9 14.7 15.2 17.7 
			 London 22.5 24.2 22.0 28.4 35.2 
			 North East 9.6 11.3 9.6 11.9 13.5 
			 North West 21.0 23.7 23.8 24.8 26.4 
			 South East 33.4 40.1 38.3 42.2 43.0 
			 South West 10.8 11.9 10.6 11.1 12.4 
			 West Midlands 15.4 16.8 13.6 17.5 20.2 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 12.8 14.0 11.8 14.0 16.1 
			 Total 160.4 180.2 164.8 187.9 212.2 
			       
			 Scotland 13.7 14.3 13.7 14.7 17.4 
			 Wales 9.0 10.6 10.3 11.8 13.5 
			 Northern Ireland 5.5 6.2 5.1 5.3 5.7 
			 Unknown 31.3 37.5 31.6 43.3 46.7 
			       
			 UK total 219.9 248.8 225.6 263.1 295.5

Income Tax

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of income tax paid by (a) women in employment and (b) men in employment in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: In the tax year 2010-11, the latest year for which outturn data are available, there were 24.0 million taxpayers who received the majority of their taxable income from employment or self-employment. Their total income tax liabilities are as follows:
	(a) Women: £36.8 billion
	(b) Men: £92.0 billion.
	These estimates are based on the 2010-11 Survey of Personal Incomes.

Limited Liability

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) concluded and (b) current money laundering enquiries concerning limited liability partnerships where the members of those partnerships are (a) all UK resident and (ii) included overseas persons were conducted by his Department in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13 to date.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs does not hold the information in the format requested. HMRC's management information does not include data on the location of individuals linked to limited liability partnership, and to gather this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Limited Liability

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many exchange of information requests concerning limited liability partnerships or their members were made by HM Revenue and Customs to each country or territory to which such requests have been made in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date.

David Gauke: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 29 January 2012, Official Report, column 732W.
	The total figures for requests sent to all states about limited liability partnerships, for each of the years questioned are as follows:
	2010-11: three
	2011-12: two
	2012 to 24 January 2013: five.

Limited Liability

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many fines were imposed on or other sanctions taken against trust and company service providers in respect of their work connected with limited liability partnerships in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date.

David Gauke: As a supervisor under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, HM Revenue and Customs imposes penalties on supervised businesses for breaches of those regulations.
	HMRC records penalties by reference to the regulatory breaches committed by a supervised business rather than the type of work undertaken by the business, and does not have the information requested.

Personal Income: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of single-earner families in Dudley will see a net loss in income by 2015-16 as a result of measures in the Autumn Statement 2012; and what the average loss in income will be.

David Gauke: The model which HM Treasury uses to assess the impact of policy decisions relies on survey data which does not contain sufficient information to provide a breakdown of impacts by town or parliamentary constituency. Therefore, this question cannot be answered with the information currently available.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment.

Sajid Javid: The current annual cost for the provision and maintenance of indoor plants within the PFI contract for the building is £6,682 plus VAT. Additionally, individual teams have contracted for the provision of indoor plants at a cost of £4,364 since May 2010 to March 2012 when these additional payments have ceased. Comparative figures for this spend from June 2008 to April 2010 was £8,639. The contract covering the provision and maintenance of the outdoor plants and trees is part of a wider maintenance contract covering both the Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs parts of the building and is not separately identifiable.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Sajid Javid: Figures for recruitment advertising for job vacancies are available as follows:
	
		
			  Spend (£) 
			 2008-09 1,064,000 
			 2009-10 1,188,000 
			 2010-11 103,000 
			 2011-12 233,000 
			 2012-13 (to 31 December 2013) 240,000 
		
	
	Figures reduced significantly in May 2010 following the Government's introduction of the civil service recruitment freeze. Spend in the second half of 2010-11 and in subsequent years, represents advertising for business critical roles where the relevant expertise was not already available internally or within the civil service. All vacancies are subject to ministerial approval

Tax Avoidance

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a requirement in Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes regulations to require firms and individuals to specifically declare any use of tax schemes that affect developing countries.

David Gauke: The Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) is highly specific to the UK in that the requirement to disclose is restricted to arrangements defined in UK legislation, and cannot be applied to other countries’ taxes. If a UK company is operating in another country and tries to avoid UK tax on the profits then DOTAS can apply provided the DOTAS 'hallmarks' are satisfied. The UK has held discussions with a number of countries who are looking to introduce their own disclosure rules to share our experience of DOTAS.

Tax Avoidance

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Development about assisting tax authorities in developing countries to recover tax owed by multi-national companies operating in Britain.

David Gauke: Treasury Ministers meet regularly with the Secretary of State for International Development to discuss a range of topics.
	The key issue is ensuring that developing countries have the assistance required to develop their own rules to protect their tax base and that they can collect the tax that they are owed. The Government works through a variety of channels including the Department for International Development (DFID), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and others to deliver high-quality capacity building to help them do this.

Tax Evasion and Fraud

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to work with other EU member states to combat tax evasion and fraud.

David Gauke: The Government is fully committed to clamping down on those who evade paying their tax or seek to avoid paying their fair share of tax. The Government is in regular discussions with other member states on these issues as well as with other international partners. The Government has also welcomed the Commission's further consideration of possible actions at the EU level in its recently published action plan on tackling tax avoidance and evasion.
	The Government is currently considering the proposals in the Commission's action plan in further detail, including the priority which should be given to the various proposals while taking fully into account the balance of competences in this area and the subsidiarity principle.

Tax Yields

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average level of tax yield, after staff costs, achieved by an officer of HM Revenue and Customs in the role of tax inspector is.

David Gauke: HMRC was created by the merger of Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise in 2005 and “tax inspectors” is no longer a role within the merged organisation. In 2011-12 there were circa 17,000 tax professionals in HMRC who carried out a range of duties—from answering queries from customers to tackling non compliance with taxation obligations, and of the £474.2 billion collected £16.7 billion was due to compliance activities, an increase of £2.8 billion over the previous year, HMRC annual report and accounts 2011-12:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/annual-report-accounts-1112.pdf

Taxation

George Galloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of how much a one-off 20 per cent tax on the wealthiest 10 per cent of the population would generate for the Exchequer.

David Gauke: The Chancellor has made clear that the Government will not introduce a wealth tax. As such no estimate has been made.
	However, we are committed to a fair tax system in which those with the most contribute the most, and have already announced a range of measures to increase the tax contribution of the wealthy, most recently at the autumn statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-882.

Welfare Tax Credits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the measure set out at page 56, line 19 of the 2012 autumn statement to increase working age discretionary benefits and tax credits by 1 per cent for three years from 2013-14, 
	(1)  what the average cash loss in 2017-18 will be for in-work families affected by that measure;
	(2)  how many in-work families in 2017-18 will be affected by that measure.

Sajid Javid: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 28 January 2013, Official Report, column 627W.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Females

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of serving (a) officers and (b) non-officers in each of the services are female.

Mark Francois: The latest available figures for the proportion of serving female officers and other ranks, as at 1 December 2012, are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Number serving in armed forces Naval service Army RAF 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 Officers 3,370 12 600 9 1,480 11 1,290 16 
			 Other ranks 12,140 9 2,300 9 6,080 8 3,760 13 
		
	
	Numbers have been rounded to prevent systematic bias.

Armed Forces: Local Government

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral answer by the Minister of State in his Department on 14 January 2013, Official Report, columns 593-4, 
	(1)  how many councils have appointed an individual with responsibility for issues related to service people;
	(2)  what the evidential basis is for the Minister's statement that most councils are already implementing the proposal to appoint armed forces champions; and if he will publish any such evidence.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is not prescriptive about the implementation of Community Covenants, as the Community Covenant partnership boards are the experts at a local level and are best placed to know the needs of their local service community. Local authorities are not obliged to notify the MOD when they appoint an armed forces champion. As such the MOD does not keep a record of where armed forces champions exist.
	However, under the Community Covenant, partnership boards regularly inform us of their progress and we are in contact with many in the course of daily business. Discussions with those who have signed Community Covenants suggest that many local authorities have appointed armed forces champions. For instance, from discussions with our contacts in Wales and Scotland, we are aware that all Community Covenant partnership areas have an armed forces champion, although titles and roles vary. Frequently, those who have not appointed someone under the title armed forces champion, have identified someone with comparable responsibilities.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the immediate pensions point is for each rank in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy.

Mark Francois: The immediate pension points (IPP) for all service personnel under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 1975 are the same for all three services. In the case of officers there are two alternatives, the first is an IPP based on 16 years service from the 21st birthday and the second is 22 years from the 18th birthday. The IPP for enlisted personnel is based upon 22 years service from their 18(th) birthday.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has given consideration to adopting a tapered pension model under which armed forces personnel would receive a pension based on time served in the armed forces.

Mark Francois: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 182, to the hon. Member for Chippenham (Duncan Hames).

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he sought legal advice as to whether the immediate pensions point could be considered a factor in decisions over redundancy in the armed forces.

Mark Francois: The immediate pension point was not considered as a criterion for selection for redundancy. As a matter of protocol the Department's internal lawyers were consulted, but this was in relation to all redundancy selection criteria.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the immediate pensions point was not considered a factor in decisions over redundancy in the armed forces.

Mark Francois: The redundancy fields were designed in order to meet the future structural needs of the armed forces. Individuals are selected from within those fields on the basis of specific criteria of performance, potential and future employability. To exempt individuals for redundancy solely in order to enable them to reach their immediate pension point, subsequently selecting other individuals in their stead, would undermine that principle and is not considered fair.

Australia

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he had with his Australian counterpart regarding co-operation over mutual design work for the Type 26 Global Combat Ship.

Philip Dunne: During his recent visit to Australia, the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), held a series of highly productive discussions with his Australian counterpart. A number of areas of potential cooperation were discussed, including that of future frigate programmes. Defence officials are examining the feasibility of specific areas of co-operation, including on the Type 26 Global Combat Ship programme.

Conditions of Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed on zero-hour contracts in his Department.

Mark Francois: Zero hours contracts are a relatively new type of contract under which an employer does not guarantee the employee a fixed number of hours per week. Rather, the employee is expected to be on-call and receive compensation only for hours worked. The Ministry of Defence currently employs no-one on this type of contract.

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what declarations of interest must be made by his Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will make that information publicly available.

Mark Francois: It is essential that there is no conflict of interest between the non-executive director (NED) business activities and their NED role. We therefore require NEDs' to declare any personal or business interest which may influence, or may be perceived to influence, their judgment in performing their functions and obligations. These interests include: personal direct and indirect pecuniary interests and any such interests of close family members and or of people living in the same household as the NED or their close family members.
	Details of directorships and other significant interests held by NEDs' of the Defence Board are disclosed in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Register of Interest. This is updated quarterly and is available for public inspection; further details are published in the MOD annual report and accounts. See page 79 onwards of the 2011-12 edition at
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-12

European Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Typhoon aircraft of each tranche have had (a) primary, (b) minor and (c) major maintenance completed under the Typhoon availability service contract to date.

Philip Dunne: Typhoon aircraft are subject to scheduled maintenance: after 400 flying hours Primary maintenance; 800 flying hours Minor maintenance; 1,200 flying hours Primary Plus maintenance; and 1,600 flying hours Major maintenance. The following table shows the number of aircraft that have completed each maintenance period under the Typhoon availability service contract to 24 January 2013:
	
		
			  Primary Minor Primary (Plus) Major Total 
			 Tranche 1 9 43 36 2 90 
			 Tranche 2 15 1 0 0 16 
			 Total 24 44 36 2 106

Piracy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many weapons have been confiscated from pirates operating off the Somalia coast by UK armed forces personnel in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many vessels suspected of use in piracy have been sunk by the Royal Navy in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: 17 vessels suspected of use in piracy have been recorded as sunk by the Royal Navy in the last five years:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2012 2 
			 2011 3 
			 2010 9 
			 2009 3 
			 2008 0 
		
	
	In 2012, 17 weapons (two Makarov pistols, 11 AK variant assault rifles, one RPG-7 launcher, two grenades and one basic explosive device), as well as ammunition, were seized from suspected pirates.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment.

Mark Francois: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Ministry of Defence is a significant landowner and the management of the defence estate's plants and trees, including the planting of new plants and trees, is a part of its normal activities.
	All expenditure must comply with the principles of propriety set out in Managing Public Money and in the Treasury's handbook on regularity, propriety and value for money.

RAF Menwith Hill

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to visit NSA Menwith Hill in 2013.

Philip Hammond: For security reasons, the Ministry of Defence does not routinely publicise any of my visits in advance.

Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials in his Department have been made redundant, by unit within the Department, since May 2010.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has used a variety of manning levers to achieve the necessary reduction of staff in the civilian work force, one of which is redundancy. Some 18,000 civilian personnel have left the MOD as a result of the use of these levers. Of those, the number of officials made redundant by unit within the MOD since May 2010, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Unit (Top Level Budget) Total 
			 Air Command 53 
			 Chief Joint Operations 5 
			 Defence Equipment and Support 263 
			 Defence Infrastructure Organisation 9 
			 Head Office and Corporate Services 46 
			 Joint Forces Command 2 
			 Land Forces 66 
			 Navy Command 1 
			 Grand total 445 
		
	
	The number of civilian personnel who have left the Department through the Voluntary Early Release Scheme is 9,188 since May 2010.

Utilities

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on (a) water, (b) gas and (c) electricity in each of the last five years.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) overall expenditure on water and sewerage, gas for fuel, and electricity is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year Water and sewerage Gas Electricity 
			 2007-08 105 80 167 
			 2008-09 104 120 205 
			 2009-10 101 119 187 
			 2010-11 100 93 184 
			 2011-12 104 93 192 
		
	
	Water and sewerage costs are combined; providing a breakdown would incur disproportionate cost. The figures do not include expenditure by our trading funds as they lie outside the MOD accounting boundary.
	Expenditure for Project Aquatrine has been included in the water and sewerage figures.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there will be any production gaps between (a) the completion of the main build work on the Astute-class submarines and the beginning of the main build work on the Trident successor submarines and (b) the completion of the main build work on the Future aircraft carriers and the beginning of the main build work on the Type 26 frigates; what plans he has to prevent the loss of skills and specialist workers during any such gaps; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 14 January 2013
	The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) intention is to deliver the Astute and Successor submarine programmes in a manner that ensures the long-term sustainability of the UK submarine industry. The MOD is working with its three principal industrial partners within the Submarine Enterprise (BAE Systems Maritime—Submarines, Babcock Marine and Rolls-Royce) to develop an efficient, coherent and sustainable submarine programme, which will provide a seamless transition between the Astute and Successor submarine programmes.
	How best to transition from the peak workload resulting from the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) Aircraft Carrier build programme to the more sustainable drumbeat of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (T26 GCS) build programme is challenging. The MOD is engaged in detailed discussions with BAE Systems Maritime—Naval Ships, the MOD's industrial partner for designated complex warship design, build and elements of support work under the terms of business agreement signed in 2009, to address any potential workload gap between the drawdown of the QEC programme and the start of build work on the planned T26 GCS once the design has been matured and the Main Gate approved. These discussions are exploring a number of options about how best to deliver the future shipbuilding programme at the lowest cost to the defence enterprise, and in a way that sustains key skills.

TRANSPORT

A14: Accidents

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average reduction was in the number of people killed or seriously injured in the 12 months after average speed cameras were sited on the A14 between Girton and Fen Ditton; and whether he has calculated any nominal monetary value which could be attributed to any such reductions.

Stephen Hammond: In the 12 months before the safety camera scheme was installed, there were one fatal, one serious and nine slight personal injury collisions confirmed on the A14 between Girton and Fen Ditton. For the 12 months following completion of the scheme, there have been one serious and four slight personal injury collisions confirmed.
	The benefits of a scheme are normally evaluated over a three-year period and it is too early to state that the reductions in the number of accidents on this section of the A14 have been wholly due to the safety camera scheme. However, using the Department for Transport's Transport Analysis Guidance on appraising transport interventions, the reduction in casualties currently represent an estimated nominal monetary value of £1.99 million saved.

Aviation: Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Yemen on the resumption of direct flights between the UK and Yemen.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), has not discussed this matter with his Yemeni counterpart.

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what declarations of interest must be made by his Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will make that information publicly available.

Norman Baker: In line with the Corporate Governance Code, the Non-Executive Board members of the Department for Transport are required to declare any personal or business interests that may influence, or appear to influence, their judgement in performing their functions and obligations to the Department.
	These interests include (without limitation), personal direct and indirect pecuniary interests and any such interests of close family members and/or of people living in the same household as the Non-Executive or their close family members.
	This information is registered at commencement of contract, and updated annually thereafter.
	However, I will keep the matter of publication under review.

Driving Tests

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the oral answer of 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 1016, 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of savings to the public purse accruing from reducing the language options for driving theory tests;
	(2)  whether he has any plans to withdraw the free-of-charge service provided by British Sign Language interpreters to deaf people and those hard of hearing, for the driving theory test;
	(3)  with whom his Department is consulting on whether to reduce the number of languages in which the theory driving test is offered;
	(4)  in the event that he decides to reduce the number of languages available for individuals wanting to take their driving theory test, whether it is his intention to extend the provision of translator services;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the potential change in the number of foreign nationals driving in the UK illegally after the expiry of the 12 months grace period in the event that the number of languages the theory test can be taken in is reduced.

Stephen Hammond: The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) plans to consult on reducing the language support available to driving test candidates shortly.
	At present, DSA provide voiceovers for the theory test in 19 languages, in addition to English and Welsh. Interpreters are also allowed to attend with candidates at theory and practical tests. The consultation will seek views on a range of options, including withdrawing the voiceovers (except for the English and Welsh voiceovers) and ceasing to permit the use of interpreters.
	There are four reasons for proposing a change—social cohesion, road safety, fraud and the potential for savings.
	There would be no change in arrangements for special needs candidates taking the test, including the service provided by British Sign Language interpreters.
	The consultation, and the associated impact assessment, is intended to be published shortly.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment.

Norman Baker: The requested information is provided below:
	
		
			 Organisational Unit Spend Notes 
			 London headquarters £100 1 
			 Rail Accident Investigation Branch £293  
			 Driving Standards Agency £641  
			 Notes 1 Above relates to maintenance only of plants located in communal areas. No further plants will be purchased and plants that perish will not be replaced. 
		
	
	This reflects the continuing steps we have taken to limit what we regard as the excessive expenditure on these items that we inherited from the previous Administration. For example spend just on pot plants in 2009-10 amounted to £70,000.
	The information requested is not separately recorded at the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA). VOSA believe nil costs have been incurred in this area but cannot confirm without incurring disproportionate cost.
	The Department has contracts for the provision of grounds maintenance services for parts of its estate. This includes multiple services, including in some cases, outdoor plants and trees. However spend in this area is not separately recorded and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Railway Stations

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the proposed fund for reopening of stations closed as a result of proposals in the Beeching Reports of 1963 and 1965 is to be available for sites in England only.

Simon Burns: The recent announcement of a £20 million New Station Fund to support the development of proposals for brand new stations promoted by third parties is available in both England and Wales.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Norman Baker: The Department and its Executive Agencies has spent £612,865 on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Training

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many away days his Department has held since 2010; and what the cost was of each such event.

Norman Baker: The Department of Transport and its six executive agencies does not hold a central record for away days. It would not be possible to obtain this information without incurring disproportionate costs.
	Training events, away days and the like, are not held in chargeable venues unless there is no alternative and there is a clear and quantifiable work related outcome. Consideration is also given as to whether the intended aims of training and development can be delivered by different means such as workplace meetings or electronically. All generic training is delivered through Civil Service Learning in accordance with Cabinet Office Learning and Development controls
	The Department believes it is important to invest in learning and development, and is committed to ensuring that it has the right people with the right skills to deliver our challenging objectives of creating growth and cutting carbon.

Transport: EU Action

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bids his Department made for funding from the Trans-European Transport Network through (a) the TEN-T programme and (b) Structural and Cohesion Funds in the period from 2007 to 2013 to date; how much funding has been received from successful bids to these programmes, by project; for which projects applications were made for funding but were unsuccessful; and what the overall EU budget was for such funding during that period.

Simon Burns: The TEN-T programme has a budget of €8 billion for the period 2007-13. The Department for Transport has responsibility for UK involvement in the programme and has submitted 41 bids for funding of which 21 were successful. Allocations of €156 million have been earmarked for these projects. Details of the bids are included in the following table. The Department is currently working to develop applications for the final bidding round which was launched in November 2012.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills leads on UK involvement in the Structural and Cohesion funds programme. For the 2007-13 programme period UK authorities have allocated £405 million of European regional development fund (ERDF) for transport projects. BIS does not keep records of individual projects or project applications for any programme, as this is the responsibility of the managing authorities.
	The responsibility for day to day management of the funds is delegated to the devolved Administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and to the relevant Government Department in England, who are the managing authorities. They are as follows:
	Department for Communities and Local Government for ERDF programmes in England;
	Department of Finance and Personnel for all Northern Ireland programmes;
	Scottish Government for all programmes in Scotland;
	Welsh European Funding Office for all programmes in Wales
	
		
			 Outcome of Trans-European Network-Transport (TEN-T) bidding rounds(1) 
			 2007 
			 Project promoter/UK participant Project EU funding (€ million) 
			 Northern Ireland (DRDNI) A1—Upgrade to dual carriageway between Beech Hill and Cloghogue 10.6 
			 Highways Agency A14—Upgrade to 3 lanes between Ellington and Fen Ditton. (The UK surrendered title to this award when this project was cancelled as part of the Government spending review.) 56.7 
			 Highways Agency M6 Carlisle to Guardsmill works to upgrade 8.6 km/5.4 mile section to full motorway standard 8.5 
			 Highways Agency A14 Haughley to Stowmarket 2.2 
			 NATS Redesign of airspace of the London Terminal Manoeuvring Area 0 
			 Manchester Airport Construct a third rail platform at the Manchester Airport Station 1.64 
		
	
	
		
			 2008 
			 Project promoter/UK participant Project EU funding (€ million) 
			 Northern Ireland (DRDNI) Ballymena-Derry: Track Life Extension 1.58 
			 Transport Scotland Forth Replacement Crossing study 0 
		
	
	
		
			 2009 
			 Project promoter/UK participant Project EU funding (€ million) 
			 Northern Ireland (DRDNI) A8 Belfast to Larne (Coleman's Corner to Ballyrickard Road) 2.17 
			 Northern Ireland (DRDNI) A6 Randalstown to Londonderry (Londonderry to Dungiven) 1.32 
			 Northern Ireland (DRDNI) A5 Western Transport Corridor (WTC) Study 0 
			 Transport Scotland Edinburgh Glasgow Improvements Programme (EGIP) 0 
			 Transport Scotland Forth Replacement Crossing, Scotland, United Kingdom 0 
			 Reading Borough Council Reading Station Concourse and Interchange Design and Planning Application 0 
			 Network Rail Manchester Hub Study 0 
			 DP World(2) Thames Estuary dredge and reclamation works to support the integrated multi-modal London Gateway port and logistics development 14.17 
			 Highways Agency A14 Corridor Traffic Management Scheme 11.67 
			 Network Rail Felixstowe—Nuneaton Route Work 9.23 
			 Network Rail Birmingham New Street Gateway—Improving access and capacity 0 
			 Network Rail Reading Station Area Redevelopment—for the period 2009-10 0 
			 Network Rail West Coast Stations redevelopment 0 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 
			 Project promoter/UK participant Project EU funding (€ million) 
			 Network Rail Route work to remove bottlenecks on the rail element of PP26—Nuneaton 4.99 
			 Port of Felixstowe(3) Felixstowe North Rail Terminal 5 
			 Peel Holdings Port Salford Development 0.99 
			 NATS(3) UK-Ireland FAB Development of High Level Sector (a joint application with IAA) 1.55 
			 Luton Council Improvements to Luton Parkway Station 0 
			 Northern Ireland (DRDNI) Removing bottlenecks on the Northern Ireland rail element of PP26 0 
			 Northern Ireland (DRDNI) Study to remove bottlenecks on the Northern Ireland road element of PP13 0 
			 Transport Scotland Edinburgh Glasgow Improvements Programme (EGIP) Study 0 
			 Transport Scotland Grangemouth freight loop and electrification clearances 0 
			 Transport Scotland Edinburgh Glasgow Improvements Programme—Gogar Transport Interchange 0 
			 Transport Scotland Forth Replacement Crossing 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Port of Tilbury(3) IBUK—Modal shift in action 0 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 
			 Project promoter/UK participant Project EU funding (€ million) 
			 Port of Tilbury(3) Iberia UK—Intermodal Corridor (a joint application with Port of Bilbao) 7.3 
			 Northern Ireland (DRDNI) Coleraine to Derry Track Renewal Project 1.62 
			 Northern Ireland (DRDNI) PP 26—York Street Inter-change 1.26 
			 Network Rail North West England Electrification: Manchester-Liverpool 5 
			 Network Rail Southampton Port to West Coast Main Line: Rail freight upgrade and improved hinterland connections 5 
			 Network Rail Felixstowe to Nuneaton rail freight enhancement (Ely Loops). (Network Rail surrendered title to this award when it discovered the project could not be undertaken to the original times scales or specification.) 4 
			 Network Rail Trans-Pennine passenger journey time improvements (Leeds to Manchester) 0 
			 Northampton Council A14 Corridor Traffic Management Scheme 0 
			 (1) This table includes bids submitted by the Department and also applications from the private sector for which the Department provided letters of support. (2 )This is a private bid presented to the Commission accompanied by a letter of support from the Department. (3) These are a private sector applications supported by the Department.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Rape

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Attorney-General how many people charged with rape were found innocent in each of the last three years.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of case outcomes of defendants prosecuted for offences of rape by way of a monitoring flag, applied to the case record. The total number of all rape prosecutions for the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 Convictions 2,433 2,431 2,429 
			 Unsuccessful 1,684 1,553 1,350 
			 Total rape prosecutions 4,117 3,984 3,779 
		
	
	The following table sets out the number of rape prosecutions which resulted in a trial, including the number of contested prosecutions that did not result in a conviction.
	
		
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 Conviction 945 1,044 1,059 
			 Unsuccessful 860 824 757 
			 Total contested rape prosecutions 1,805 1,868 1,816 
		
	
	The criminal courts make no finding of “innocence” but require that the prosecution prove an offence “beyond a reasonable doubt”. If they are not successful in doing this the defendant is found “not guilty” and acquitted of the offence.
	The CPS defines rape as any offence from the following list:
	Section 1 Sexual Offences Act 1956;
	Section 5 Sexual Offences Act 1956;
	Section 1 Sexual Offences Act 2003;
	Section 5 Sexual Offences Act 2003;
	Section 30(3) Sexual Offences Act 2003;
	An attempt to commit any of the above offences under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981;
	Incitement or conspiracy to commit any of the above offences.
	It is not possible to disaggregate figures to show separately the volume and outcome of proceedings for each individual offence on this list. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.

Rape

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the proportion of rape allegations that were unsuccessfully prosecuted, where the allegation was malicious in nature in the latest period for which figures are available.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of case outcomes of defendants prosecuted for offences of rape by way of a monitoring flag, applied to the case record on the Case Management System (CMS). Out of 3,864 defendants prosecuted for cases flagged as rape in 2011-12 1,450 were unsuccessful.
	The CPS defines rape as any offence from the following list:
	Section 1 Sexual Offences Act 1956;
	Section 5 Sexual Offences Act 1956;
	Section 1 Sexual Offences Act 2003;
	Section 5 Sexual Offences Act 2003;
	Section 30(3) Sexual Offences Act 2003;
	An attempt to commit any of the above offences under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981;
	Incitement or conspiracy to commit any of the above offences.
	It is not possible to disaggregate figures to show separately the volume and outcome of proceedings for each individual offence on this list. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.
	It is not possible to ascertain how many allegations of rape were malicious, without examining individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost. Therefore, no estimate of the proportion of rape allegations that were unsuccessfully prosecuted because the allegation was malicious in nature can be made.

EDUCATION

Children: Protection

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has received any representations from other countries on the actions of the child protection system; and what concerns have been expressed in each case.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education has received formal representations on this issue from the Slovak Republic. We are also aware of concerns that have been expressed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Justice from a number of other countries including the Czech Republic, Latvia, Nigeria and Turkey. The concerns have centred on decision making by local authorities and the processes of the family courts in relation to children with connections to other countries who are subject to care proceedings, regardless of whether the children are British or foreign nationals.

Schools: Snow and Ice

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the average net cost per day of closing a (a) primary school and (b) secondary school as a result of inclement weather.

David Laws: The Department does not collect the required data to assess the cost of a school closing due to inclement weather. We cannot, therefore, provide the figures requested.
	While it is difficult to give a precise cost as the running costs of schools vary significantly across the country, we are aware of the potential costs that may arise in such a situation. The highest cost is likely to result from teaching and support staff being paid while unable to work. There would also be lost revenue for school transport and school meals, where the usual expenditure may occur for these services but they have not taken place or been used by pupils due to the inclement weather.

Special Educational Needs

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils (a) applied and (b) were granted special access arrangements for (i) GCSE exams and (ii) A levels in each year since 1997.

Elizabeth Truss: Information on applications for, and access arrangements granted, for GCSE and A level exam candidates is not held by the Department but is collated by the qualifications and examinations regulator, Ofqual.
	I have asked Glenys Stacey, Ofqual's Chief Regulator, to write to my hon. Friend with such information relevant to the question as Ofqual holds. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Conditions of Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people are employed on zero-hour contracts in his Department.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not employ any people on zero-hour contracts.

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what declarations of interest must be made by his Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will make that information publicly available.

Gregory Barker: Non-executives must declare to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government’s permanent secretary any personal or business interest which may (or may be perceived by a reasonable member of the public) to influence their judgment in performing their functions and obligations. These interests include (without limitation), personal direct and indirect pecuniary interests and any such interests of close family members and/or of people living in the same household as the non-executive or their close family members.
	The Department collects this information on a biannual basis from non-executives alongside other board members. A copy of the Department's register of non-executive directors' interests is available on request.

Electricity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the costs to the Exchequer of introducing fuel switching within existing generation capacity’
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect on emissions of the introduction of fuel switching within existing generation capacity.

John Hayes: The analysis included in the latest impact assessment for the Energy Bill, published on 14 January 2013), includes impacts on load factors of changing fuel and carbon prices and also includes new build, retirements and conversions:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/66037/7468-contracts-for-difference-energy-bill-2012.pdf
	There are different implications from fuel switching within existing generation under these various scenarios, based on the required reductions in emissions intensity.

Electricity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the potential number of additional jobs that could result from the introduction of electricity market reform.

John Hayes: It is estimated that the implementation of electricity market reform could support as many as 250,000 jobs across the UK energy sector. This figure reflects estimates of how many jobs could be supported by low-carbon electricity by 2020 (including supply chains) but does not include wider job impacts across the economy.

Electricity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likelihood that electricity market reform will deliver a generation mix profile with 35 per cent renewables in 2020.

John Hayes: Our latest impact assessment of electricity market reform, published on 14 January 2013(1), sets out generation mix scenarios for a range of different decarbonisation targets in 2030 (100gCO2/kWh, 50gCO2/kWh and 200gCO2/kWh).
	Dispatch modelling is sensitive to a number of assumptions (e.g. around inputs, methodology), which influence the capacity and generation mix realised under different scenarios. Such outcomes therefore represents specific states of the world and are not intended to be a prediction or forecast about what the future is expected to be.
	Nevertheless, for all of the above scenarios, renewables generation accounts for 35% of total generation in 2020.
	(1) Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/66037/7468-contracts-for-difference-energy-bill-2012.pdf

Electricity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likelihood that electricity market reform will deliver a decarbonisation trajectory consistent with an emissions intensity of between 40 and 60 carbon dioxide/kWh in 2030.

John Hayes: The latest impact assessment for the Energy Bill, published on 14 January 2013 includes cost-benefit analysis of electricity market reform based on meeting1 a carbon emissions intensity of 50gCO2/kWh in 2030:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/66037/7468-contracts-for-difference-energy-bill-2012.pdf
	The net present value under this scenario is £5.5 billion.
	The analysis set out in the impact assessment shows that the design of electricity market reforms (and specifically the feed-in-tariff contracts for difference) will lower the cost of financing the large investments needed in electricity infrastructure, irrespective of the level of decarbonisation in the sector to 2030.

Energy

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2013, Official Report, column 956W, on energy, what information on the transmission and distribution must be submitted to his Department in support of an application for an energy generation project.

Gregory Barker: Information in support of applications for consent under the Planning Act 2008 for energy generation projects over 50MW in England and Wales should be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate rather than to DECC. Section 4.9 "Grid Connection" of the Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1):
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/47854/1938-overarching-nps-for-energy-en1.pdf
	This sets out information requirements in respect of the connection of proposed generating stations to the transmission or distribution network.

Energy Companies Obligation

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the contribution by the Secretary of State of 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 984, on energy efficiency and fuel poverty, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the Energy Company Obligation will be (a) more effective and (b) more transparent than the Warm Front scheme.

Gregory Barker: The Energy Company Obligation is expected to lead to more cost-effective delivery of measures to low income, vulnerable households.
	Under Warm Front in 2010-11, around 80,000 households received major heating and/or insulation measures from a budget of £366 million. By contrast, the ECO Affordable Warmth obligation is expected to deliver heating and insulation measures to around 130,000 households each year of the scheme for an annual cost of around £350 million. Coupled with the ECO Carbon Saving Communities obligation, worth around £190 million per annum, a total of 230,000 low income households will be assisted each scheme year.
	Under ECO we will have much greater powers than before to require energy companies to report on the costs of delivery and how these are passed through to bills to ensure greater transparency.

Fuels: Rural Areas

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure that people in rural communities have access to affordable petrol and diesel.

John Hayes: Access to road fuels is particularly important in rural communities given the dependency of businesses and individuals on their vehicles to get around. DECC published a report from Deloitte LLP in December 2012 which makes clear that, despite the closure of many filling stations over recent decades, on a postcode basis 98% of drivers live within 10 minutes of a filling station and the average driving time of the remaining 2% is just two or three minutes more than this.
	In their report on the retail market published on 30 January 2013 the Office of Fair Trading has looked at whether the prices at the pump fairly reflects the prices retailers pay and concluded that they do. The Government will continue to monitor price movements closely.
	We have taken a number of measures to reduce the effects on motorists of high global oil prices, including cancelling the planned 3p fuel duty rise planned for 1 January and deferring the 2013-14 increase from April 2013 to September 2013. These and other changes to the fuel duty escalator mean that average pump prices are currently 10p per litre lower than they would have been and will remain at least 10ppl lower over the life of this Parliament.

Gas Fired Power Stations

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential for combined cycle gas turbine plants (CCGT) with combined heat and power to replace CCGT as base load capacity before 2020.

John Hayes: Combined heat and power (CHP) capacity projections suggest there is technical potential for up to 16 GW of fossil fuel fired CHP in the UK by 2020. However, only a proportion of this is economically viable. Projections suggest a growth in fossil fuel CHP capacity from 7.4 GW currently to 8.9 GW by 2020. Projected growth in CHP capacity is sensitive to investment hurdle rates and to the “spark spread” (the difference between the cost of gas and electricity prices). Our evidence suggests that CHP projects face higher hurdle rates than power-only projects. If CHP hurdle rates were the same as those for power-only projects, the maximum capacity that might be brought forward according to our modelling is 12.3 GW. This compares with current total CCGT capacity (including existing CCGT CHP) of 32 GW.

Insulation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on what date Carbon Emission Reduction Target funding for cavity wall insulation ended; whether funding will be provided for people who made bookings under the scheme before the cut-off date to honour those bookings; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 29 January 2013
	The Carbon Emissions Reductions Target (CERT) is an obligation on the major energy suppliers to deliver energy efficiency improvements to households. Arrangements for bookings with households, and any funding provided, are a matter for the energy companies concerned and their delivery partners.
	As provided for in the legislation, CERT formally ended on 31 December 2012, and the new ECO (energy company obligation) started on 1 January 2013 (with provision for activity from October 2012 to count towards the obligation). I have urged companies to be sensitive to the experience of householders in the way that they manage the transition period.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has spent £172,000 since May 2010.

Warm Front Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many visits Ministers in his Department have conducted to publicise the Warm Front scheme in each of the last three years.

Gregory Barker: Ministers constantly look to publicise all of the Department’s schemes and policies, including through visits, events and media activity.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

North Africa

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in north Africa; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: There is no humanitarian emergency in North Africa as such. We are, however, concerned about the 14,000 Syrian refugees in Egypt and the 47,000 internally displaced people in Libya. We are also monitoring the movement of people from Mali into north African countries.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when she expects the Turks and Caicos Islands Government to attain a sustainable budget surplus.

Alan Duncan: In 2010, the annual deficit in the Turks and Caicos Islands was £40 million and rising. To address this unacceptable state of affairs, DFID appointed a Chief Financial Officer to oversee the island’s finances, and we now expect a sustainable surplus to be attained from this year onwards.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Michael Ellis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when she expects the Turks and Caicos Islands Government to attain a sustainable budget surplus.

Alan Duncan: In 2010, the annual deficit in the Turks and Caicos Islands was £40 million and rising. To address this unacceptable state of affairs, DFID appointed a Chief Financial Officer to oversee the island’s finances, and we now expect a sustainable surplus to be attained from this year onwards.

West and North Africa

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the effect of international borders on non-national groups in west and north Africa.

Lynne Featherstone: Some of the international borders in this region are very porous, particularly in the Sahel, with noticeable population flows across them by the nomadic Tuareg and others. This emphasises the need for a regional approach by the international community to West and North Africa.

Global Hunger

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the opportunities for tackling global hunger at the forthcoming G8 summit and throughout 2013.

Lynne Featherstone: By 2015 the UK has pledged to reach 20 million pregnant women and children with nutrition programmes. The UK will continue to tackle global hunger in 2013 through a food and nutrition event a few days before the G8 summit. The Secretary of State for International Development, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), will also take forward the New Alliance on Food Security and Nutrition, through her role as co-chair of the Leadership Council.

Global Hunger

Iain McKenzie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the opportunities for tackling global hunger at the forthcoming G8 summit and throughout 2013.

Lynne Featherstone: By 2015 the UK has pledged to reach 20 million pregnant women and children with nutrition programmes. The UK will continue to tackle global hunger in 2013 through a food and nutrition event a few days before the G8 summit. The Secretary of State for International Development, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), will also take forward the New Alliance on Food Security and Nutrition, through her role as co-chair of the Leadership Council.

Syria

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what humanitarian support her Department has provided in response to the crisis in Syria.

Alan Duncan: The UK is playing a leading role in the humanitarian response. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), is currently at the UN high level conference for Syria in Kuwait where she has announced a further £50 million for the UN’s Syria appeals, bringing the UK’s total support to £139.5 million.

Syria

Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Syria.

Alan Duncan: The humanitarian situation in Syria is shocking, with 4 million people in need of assistance. The UK is calling on all parties to the conflict to allow sustained, safe and unrestricted access for neutral and impartial humanitarian agencies across Syria to help to those who need it most.

Syria

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent reports she has received on the humanitarian situation of Syrian refugees in (a) Lebanon, (b) Jordan, (c) Iraq and (d) Turkey.

Alan Duncan: The humanitarian situation for refugees is extremely concerning. As of 29 January, there were over 700,000 Syrian refugees in the region, including over 220,000 in Jordan, over 160,000 in Turkey, over 225,000 in Lebanon and over 77,000 in Iraq. Thousands more refugees cross the border each day, and reports tell us they are arriving in an increasingly poor state, often with little more than the clothes they are wearing.
	Last week the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), visited Jordan and saw for herself the hardship that refugees are facing. She also attended UN donor conference in Kuwait and announced that the UK is providing strong support, and doubling funding to the humanitarian response. Our funding now stands at £139.5 million. This support will provide vital support such as food, shelter and medical care for hundreds of thousands of people across the region. Much more funding is needed, however, if we are to meet the urgent needs of the Syrian people. The Kuwait conference is key to tackling the shortfall in funding, and the international community must step up.

Syria

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness among Syrian refugees of the importance of birth registration to ensure that their children to do not become stateless.

Alan Duncan: The UK is funding the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide support for Syrian refugees, which includes birth registration for Syrians born in refugee communities. UNHCR in Lebanon, for example, is currently working in conjunction with the Government of Lebanon to ensure that refugees know how to register the birth of their child. In Jordan, UNHCR works in conjunction with Parent and Child Health clinics to register babies born in refugee camps.

Syria

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of (a) the number of Syrian refugees awaiting registration in (i) Lebanon, (ii) Jordan, (iii) Iraq and (iv) Turkey and (b) the UK's outreach activities to provide registration in those areas.

Alan Duncan: As of 29 January, there were over 700,000 Syrian refugees in the region, including over 220,000 in Jordan of which a little over 50,000 refugees are awaiting registration. In Lebanon there are over 225,000 refugees of which just under 70,000 are awaiting registration. In Turkey there are 160,000 registered refugees, and tens of thousands more are thought to be living unregistered outside the camps, although no there are no official numbers. In Iraq, there are 77,000 refugees, all of whom are registered on arrival to the country.
	The UK is funding the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to support them with the registration process in Jordan and Lebanon. In the past month, UNHCR has been working towards accelerating the registration process and waiting time in Lebanon has been reduced to three to four weeks. In Turkey, UNHCR is working with the Government of Turkey to identify refugees outside of the camps. The UK will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that refugees are receiving the support they need.

Syria

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had on providing safe humanitarian access to all parts of Syria.

Alan Duncan: The UK is calling on all parties to the violence in Syria to allow access for humanitarian workers and safe passage for people to receive aid. Today the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), is attending the UN pledging conference in Kuwait where she will repeat these calls for access. The UK has provided humanitarian agencies with armoured vehicles to protect humanitarian workers in their delivery of aid. We are also supporting Baroness Amos in her negotiations with the Government of Syria and the opposition forces to allow humanitarian access to all those in need.

Syria

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to help internally displaced people cope with cold weather conditions in Syria.

Alan Duncan: The UK is a leading donor in the humanitarian response for Syria. Following the Secretary of State's announcement at the UN high level pledging conference in Kuwait, we are now providing £139.5 million in humanitarian aid. With the £21 million announced on 26 January 2013 during the Secretary of State's visit to Jordan, this means the UK has now more than doubled its funding for Syria in under a week to respond to rapidly escalating needs. This is going to support those affected by the crisis across the region, including displaced persons in Syria. In Syria, our funding has already provided shelter and relief supplies such as blankets and warm clothing for over 30,000 people in opposition held and contested areas to help them cope with the cold winter months. The UK is also providing food for over 120,000 people per month.
	While aid is reaching displaced persons in Syria, it is not enough. Much more funding is needed to ensure that Syrian people receive the support that they need. The UK lobbied the international community widely ahead of the Kuwait conference to ensure that other countries also stepped up. Greater security and access for humanitarian agencies is also needed. The UK is calling on all parties to the conflict to allow sustained, safe and unrestricted access for neutral and impartial humanitarian agencies across Syria to help to those who need it most.

Burundi

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the success of her Department's work during the recent repatriation of Burundian refugees from Tanzania to Burundi.

Lynne Featherstone: We are still awaiting official reporting from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but our provisional assessment is that the repatriation of 34,052 Burundian former refugees from Mtabila camp in north western Tanzania was a successful operation, completed ahead of the Tanzanian Government's deadline of the end of December 2012.
	The UK Government, through the Department for International Development (DFID), provided financial support of £2.8 million to fund the repatriation. We also facilitated expert help to the Tanzanian immigration authorities from the UK Borders Authority, to ensure the process was managed in an orderly manner. Officials from DFID and the British high commission in Tanzania were engaged with the process, making a number of visits to the camps. In Burundi the initial resettlement is going to plan, with the former refugees receiving necessary support for their immediate needs, but their long-term reintegration is likely to remain a challenge.

Conditions of Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people are employed on zero-hour contracts in her Department.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not have people employed on zero-hour contracts.

Developing Countries: Females

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK overseas aid in promoting women's rights.

Lynne Featherstone: Promoting and protecting the rights of girls and women is a top priority for the Department for International Development (DFID) and is right at the heart of our work.
	DFID's 'One Year On' report (2012) has assessed how we are delivering gender equality and improving the lives of girls and women. For example in 2011-12:
	DFID's programmes enabled 1 million more women to have access to modern methods of family planning; and
	740,000 additional women had access to financial services.
	In addition to its bilateral programmes, DFID supports a number of non-governmental organisations which promote rights of women and girls. For example, we support Care International's Bangladesh Rural Sales Programme which brings employment to women from among the country's extreme rural poor. The programme now employs over 2,600 women who were unemployed and aims to employ 12,000 women by 2014.

Developing Countries: Mental Health Services

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what her policy is on mental health issues in developing countries.

Lynne Featherstone: The prevalence of non-communicable diseases, including mental health conditions, is increasing in all countries.
	The UK health focus in developing countries is to improve the provision of basic health services for the poor by supporting health systems strengthening, health worker capacity and access to essential medicines. Increasing coverage, equity, access and quality will strengthen health services to address all health problems including mental health conditions.

Developing Countries: Mental Health Services

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has invested in global mental health initiatives or programmes in each year since 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: Details of the Department of International Development (DFID) aid expenditure in developing countries, including health sector spend, are published in Statistics on International Development (SID), which is available in the House Library or online at:.
	www.dfid.gov.uk
	However, the UK does not track inputs, allocations and expenditure specifically on mental health. Tracking is based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) codes, which are used for reporting official development assistance.
	As part of our support for health research the UK is supporting PRIME (‘PRogramme for Improving Mental Health CarE’) a research programme led by the University of Cape Town (£6 million from 2011 to 2017) which will bring together a consortium of researchers to work across a number of countries on the feasibility, acceptability and impact of mental health care packages for priority mental disorders.

Developing Countries: Nature Conservation

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK development aid supports projects concerned with conservation of wildlife as a natural resource.

Lynne Featherstone: The Department for International Development (DFID) works to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable growth in some of the poorest countries in the world. A healthy natural resource base is considered vital to promoting growth and protecting the livelihoods of the poorest. As such sustainable use of natural resources is fully considered throughout all DFID programmes from design to evaluation.
	DFID supports a number of programmes to promote the sustainable use of wildlife as a natural resource for livelihoods of vulnerable people in biodiverse regions, both directly with developing countries and through partners such as the Global Environment Facility, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) managed DARWIN Initiative and the World Wildlife Fund. Our programmes on forestry, financed through the International Climate Fund, involve efforts to enhance community access to natural resources including wildlife which support better livelihoods. For example, in Nepal DFID is helping to empower local communities to manage their forests and promote sustainable livelihoods in a region where endangered species such as tigers and Red Pandas can still be found.
	DFID reporting to the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) in this area looks to more general environmental and biodiversity work and does not capture wildlife specific programme spend.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress her Department has made on meeting its commitment to provide over 60 million people with water, sanitation and hygiene promotion by 2015; and which countries will receive this provision.

Lynne Featherstone: Results of the Department for International Development's (DFID's) ongoing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes are detailed in the DFID Annual Report and Accounts 2011-12. Results from the implementation of more recent commitments will be detailed in the next Annual Report, due in June 2013.
	We aim to meet our commitments through programmes delivered in countries in Africa and Asia. This will be delivered through programmes managed by our Country Offices and from central teams. Details of our current WASH programmes are available on the DFID website.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Alan Duncan: DFID has spent £331,432 on external advertising from May 2010 to January 2013.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Corporation Tax

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made with the devolving of corporation tax powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Michael Penning: The Joint Ministerial Working Group on Rebalancing the Northern Ireland Economy has concluded its work and reported to the Prime Minister. The Government will outline next steps in due course.

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what declarations of interest must be made by her Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if she will make that information publicly available.

Michael Penning: Non-executive directors of the Northern Ireland Office must declare, to the director general, any personal or business interest which may, or could be perceived to, influence their judgment in performing their functions and obligations. These interests include (without limitation), personal direct and indirect pecuniary interests and any such interests of close family members and/or of people living in the same household as the non-executive or their close family members. As noted in the Departmental Annual Report and Accounts, which were laid in Parliament on 13 September 2012, this information is available for inspection upon request.

Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 914W, on publications, if she will place a copy of her Department's staff magazine in the Library.

Michael Penning: I am advised that it is not possible to place a copy of my Department's electronic in-house magazine in the Library due to data protection legislation.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much her Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Michael Penning: My Department spent £1,500 since May 2010 on the advertising of civil service job vacancies.

Training

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many away days her Department has held since 2010; and what the cost was of each such event.

Michael Penning: Since April 2010, business areas within my Department have held two development days; one in 2011, and one in 2012. The costs for each of these events were under £100.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the UN concerning plans and a timescale for the establishment of a comprehensive political framework for eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mark Simmonds: I discussed the situation in Eastern DRC with Susan Malcorra, Chief of Staff to the UN Secretary General, during my visit to Kampala in November 2012, and also on 25 January in the margins of the AU summit in Addis Ababa. The UK fully supports the UN's efforts to encourage the early finalisation and agreement of a Peace and Security Framework for the Great Lakes Region. We will remain in close contact with UN interlocutors on this issue.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent action he has taken to urge those with influence over the M23 rebel group to help stop the violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mark Simmonds: I raised my concerns about the ongoing crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 24 January with the Rwandan Foreign Minister and on 25 January with the DRC Foreign Minister. These discussions took place in the margins of the Africa Union summit in Addis Ababa. I urged the early finalisation and signature of a regional framework agreement which could provide the basis on which to build sustainable peace and prosperity in eastern DRC.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the peace talks being held between the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the M23 rebel group over the situation in eastern DRC.

Mark Simmonds: The UK has been aware of the talks taking place in Kampala between the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the M23 rebel group. Such talks can only be the first step in wider discussions that bring in all the Governments in the region. In this regard, the UK supports the early signing of a Peace and Security Framework for the Great Lakes Region. This is an important step in building sustainable peace and prosperity in eastern DRC. We encourage all stakeholders to address the underlying causes of conflict and remain convinced that an international oversight mechanism, as provided for in the current draft will bring about the sustained regional and international attention and engagement on eastern DRC needed to ensure long-term gains. The UPC is committed to playing its part.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Eric Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo in respect of the renewed civil war in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mark Simmonds: We make such representations regularly. At the African Union summit on 25 January I spoke in depth about the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with Raymond Tshibanda, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DRC. I also spoke with the President of the DRC, Joseph Kabila, in November last year in Kinshasa. On both occasions I urged them to seek out solutions which would create long-term peace and prosperity in the region and reiterated Britain's commitment to supporting such sustainable solutions.

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what declarations of interest must be made by his Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will make that information publicly available.

David Lidington: The letter of appointment that our non-executive directors receive, requires that they declare to the Foreign Secretary and the Permanent Secretary any personal or business interests which may, or may be perceived (by a reasonable member of the public) to influence their judgment in performing their functions as non-executives. These interests include personal direct and indirect pecuniary interests and any such interests of their close family members. Non-executives are also required to inform the Foreign Secretary or Permanent Secretary in advance of any new appointments that may impinge on their performance of their functions and obligations as non-executives.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) maintains a Register of Interests for FCO non-executives, which we require them to update annually. Details of any potential conflicts of interest, and how they have been managed, will be published in the FCO's annual report.

FCO Services

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff FCO Services has; and whether they are considered members of HM diplomatic service.

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services annual reports and accounts detail the number of staff employed by FCO Services, are laid before Parliament on an annual basis and can be found on the organisation's website at
	www.fcoservices.gov.uk
	FCO Services annual report and accounts 2012-13 will be laid before Parliament later this year. As of 31 December 2012 FCO Services employed 849 permanent staff.
	FCO Services does not directly appoint employees to Her Majesty's diplomatic service (DS). However, when their employees are posted overseas they are awarded DS status and work under DS terms and conditions of employment.

FCO Services

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much income FCO Services has generated for the Exchequer in each of the last four years.

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services is a trading fund of the FCO, providing a range of bespoke, secure services worldwide to the FCO, other Government Departments and foreign governments and international organisations with which the UK has close links. As such it receives no direct funding from the Government, retaining its income to meet its expenditure, and therefore does not return income directly to the Exchequer.
	FCO Services annual reports and accounts covering the last four years are laid before Parliament on an annual basis and can also be found on the organisation’s website at:
	www.fcoservices.gov.uk
	These detail FCO Services revenue generation and accounting over the period in question.

Homosexuality

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department will publish an updated Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender toolkit.

David Lidington: The Toolkit is circulated each year to all our embassies and high commissions. We currently have no plans to update the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Toolkit.
	We continue to work to uphold the rights and freedoms of LGBT people in all circumstances. We believe that the international community must address all forms of discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and promote respect for diversity.

International Convention for the Protection of All Persons From Enforced Disappearance

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to facilitate the UK signing the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  for what reason the UK has not signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	The UK Government fully supports the need to protect all people from enforced disappearance and has made it clear in its formal response to the recommendations it received at its recent UN Universal Periodic Review that it is committed to making further progress on ratification by the time of our mid-term progress report under this mechanism which is due in 2014.
	However, the convention imposes detailed and complex requirements on those states which choose to sign and ratify it and the Government is considering how the provisions of the treaty might be implemented in the UK.
	The UK only signs a treaty once it is confident it can properly implement it and once any necessary changes to legislation have been made so that domestic law is compatible with the treaty.

Iran

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of financial sanctions against Iran.

Alistair Burt: Financial sanctions are restricting Iran's ability to trade and access its foreign currency reserves. They are therefore having a significant impact on the Iranian economy, and the regime's ability to fund its expenditure. Financial sanctions contribute significantly to the pressure on Iran to negotiate seriously with the E3+3 over its nuclear programme. They are accompanied by EU oil sanctions. Their effect has been exacerbated by the regime's economic mismanagement.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what checks the Government has made on the use by the Israel defense forces of unmanned aerial vehicles containing components exported from the UK to Israel under approved export licences.

Alistair Burt: The UK maintains a rigorous and transparent arms export control system, whereby all applications are assessed on a case by case basis, against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. The criteria make clear our commitment to assess the risk of exports being used for internal repression or to provoke or prolong armed conflicts or aggravate existing tensions or conflict in the country of final destination. We apply these criteria rigorously, including with respect to Israel.
	Accordingly, all licence assessments take into consideration, inter alia, the remit of the end user and the specification of the final platform. In cases where the proposed transfer is destined for a military end user we are particularly mindful to understand how equipment has been used during previous security operations and how it might be used in the future. Staff are continuously monitoring the situation on the ground in Israel to maximize our understanding of that situation—for example, most recently during Operation Cloud Pillar—so that this can inform our ongoing assessment of risk. We refuse licences for any arms exports to Israel which we assess would be inconsistent with the criteria or other relevant commitments.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 12 December 2012 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Elizabeth Edwards.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), replied to the right hon. Member’s letter on 30 January 2013. I apologise for the delayed response, but Foreign and Commonwealth officials were seeking clarification on some of the issues raised.

Occupied Territories

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 22 January 2013, Official Report, columns 156-7, on occupied Palestinian territories, what he means by incentives and disincentives for (a) Israel and (b) Palestine with regards to future negotiations.

Alistair Burt: As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), made clear, we look to the US to lead a major effort to renew the middle east peace process in 2013. European and Arab countries can contribute including through incentives and disincentives. This means making clear the positives for both sides, that could flow from resolution of the conflict as well as the serious downsides for both parties if the conflict remains unresolved.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment.

David Lidington: I refer the hon. Member to the response the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), gave on 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 104W.
	Subsequently there has been no spend on additional indoor and outdoor plants and trees in the UK, but £3,189 on plants and plant stands for high profile international events at Lancaster House.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advertises job vacancies through a targeted range of media. This is in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles, which state that:
	“the media chosen to advertise job opportunities must be suitable for attracting a diverse field of strong potential candidates”.
	The FCO has spent £234,236.28 advertising job vacancies since May 2010.
	All of these positions were approved for external recruitment as either business-critical or a front-line service, in accordance with the terms of the Government-wide recruitment freeze which has been in place since May 2010.
	In the two years preceding (financial years 2008-09 and 2009-10), the total spend on advertising was £453,990.70.
	These figures do not include advertising for the Fast Stream as their recruitment is organised centrally by the Cabinet Office.

Sudan

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which UK residents are being targeted to pay ransoms for the victims of kidnapping in the Eritrea/Sudan border areas; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: We are unaware of any UK residents who have been targeted to pay ransoms to kidnappers in the Eritrea/Sudan border areas.

West Africa

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to support West African states in improving maritime security.

Alistair Burt: We are heavily involved in supporting a regional approach to strengthening maritime security in West Africa. We are supporting the Economic Community of West African States and the Economic Community of Central African States in developing an integrated maritime security strategy, including through funding officials to lead this work. We are providing bilateral support to help build maritime policing capacity, for example by providing assistance to the Cameroon coast guard; training facilities in Nigeria and Ghana; and equipment to support counter-narcotics activity in Sierra Leone.
	Last summer, HMS Dauntless conducted a comprehensive tour of the region participating in a multilateral counter-narcotics naval exercise with Senegal, Cape Verde and the US; conducting training exercises with local navies; and engaging with naval and maritime security experts in Ghana, Angola and Nigeria. We will build on this with a further Royal Navy deployment in the spring.
	We are also supporting the shipping industry-led initiative to establish a regional Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre with a range of partners from industry and governments. We also intend to use our presidency of the G8 to continue the co-ordination of our partners' activities to strengthen further the region's maritime security capability.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeship starts under the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers scheme there have been in each region in each month since the schemes launch.

Matthew Hancock: The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE 16 to 24) provides grants of £1,500 to employers with up to 1,000 employees that take on a young apprentice aged 16 to 24.
	Table 1 shows the provisional number of AGE 16 to 24 Pipeline Starts and Payments Made by region between February and October 2012 (the latest period for which figures are available). AGE 16 to 24 was launched in February 2012. Payments are drawn down once the new apprentice has been in post for 13 weeks, therefore some apprenticeship starts are not included in the Payments Made column because they had not yet triggered a payment. Such apprenticeships are recorded as Pipeline Starts.
	
		
			 Table 1: AGE 16 to 24 apprenticeship starts, by region, February to October 2012 (provisional) 
			 Region Payments Made Pipeline Starts Total 
			 North East 590 480 1,080 
			 North West 1,180 1,370 2,540 
		
	
	
		
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 730 800 1,530 
			 East Midlands 660 690 1,350 
			 West Midlands 830 840 1,670 
			 East of England 610 760 1,370 
			 London 470 410 880 
			 South East 830 1,170 2,000 
			 South West 750 1,440 2,180 
			 Other 90 170 270 
			 Total 6,700 8,100 14,900 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 except for totals which are rounded to the nearest 100. Figures may not sum due to rounding. 2. Geography is based upon the delivery location of the Apprenticeship. Geographic information is based on boundaries of regions as of May 2010. Source: Individualised Learner Record

Apprentices: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships were created in Barnsley Central constituency in each month from May 2010 to date.

Matthew Hancock: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer to his question on 20 December 2012, Official Report, column 862W, in which I provided apprenticeship starts in Barnsley Central parliamentary constituency by age and quarter since May 2010.
	We publish apprenticeship starts at the quarterly level, therefore data for each month is not presented.

Business: Billing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will introduce the British Chamber of Commerce's Kitemark scheme in order to promote prompt payments in the private sector.

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 31 October 2012, Official Report, column 298W.

Business: Loans

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to lower the interest rates charged on small businesses which use Government-backed loan schemes.

Michael Fallon: The Funding for Lending scheme run by the Bank of England, with the approval of the Government, has led to long-term wholesale funding costs for banks reducing by more than 1 percentage point. This is improving the availability and price of credit to small businesses.
	BIS's main loan guarantee programme for small and medium-sized businesses is the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme. The aim of this scheme is not to reduce the cost of finance for small businesses, but to help businesses without sufficient track record or collateral access bank finance. This scheme has facilitated over 20,000 loan offers to businesses who would not otherwise get bank credit.

Computer Software

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of people trained in software development.

Jo Swinson: Apprenticeships are central to our skills ambition. Starts on the IT, Software, Web and Telecoms professional apprenticeship have risen year on year since 2007/08. In 2010/11, 11,780 individuals commenced the apprenticeship, with a further 7,470 embarking on an IT user qualification. The framework can include key software capabilities, with the advanced apprenticeship specifically targeting software and web development.
	Through the UK Commission for Education and Skills, BIS has supported a number of industry initiatives aiming to improve the pipeline of talent into IT and computing.
	This includes funding to help establish key industry initiatives such as the Information Technology Management for Business degree (ITMB), the E-skills professional placement, development of fit for purpose apprentice frameworks, and the Computing for Girls initiative.
	In addition significant funding has been made available to support projects such as Informed Choices which includes an ambition to develop a stimulating new IT curriculum for students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to develop both higher education and vocational pathways.

Conditions of Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people are employed on zero-hour contracts in his Department.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not employ anyone on zero-hour contracts.

Conditions of Employment

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to establish a fair employment commission to work with business groups and trade unions to promote good employment practice.

Jo Swinson: There are many models of good employment practice; these are promoted by a range of organisations from businesses themselves through their supply chains, Government agencies like ACAS, and representative organisations like unions and trade bodies.
	The Government believes that the promotion of good employment practice is best led by those organisations that have expertise in running businesses, and working with businesses on a day to day basis. This is exemplified through our support for ‘Trading for Good’, a service that encourages small businesses to promote their responsible business practices; the ‘Engage for Success’ initiative where top companies are coming together to share best practice and promote employee engagement and the work we are doing to support the growth of employee owned companies following the Nuttall review.

Directors

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what declarations of interest must be made by his Department's non-executive directors; with what frequency any such declarations are required to be made; and if he will make that information publicly available.

Jo Swinson: BIS' non-executive board members are required to declare any personal or business interest which may, or may be perceived (by a reasonable member of the public) to influence their judgment in performing their functions and obligations.
	The Corporate Governance Code provides that the board should agree and document an appropriate system to record and manage conflicts and potential conflicts of interest of board members. These records are updated on an annual basis. As set out in the code, the board will publish, in its governance statement, how any identified conflicts, and potential conflicts, of interest of board members have been managed. Copies of the Register of Interests will be laid in the House of Commons Library alongside annual report and accounts.
	The Corporate Governance Code can be found here:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_governance_corporate.htm

Electricity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the effect of electricity market reform on employment;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on ensuring that there is an adequate skills mix in the workforce to deliver new and long-term employment as a result of measures in the Energy Bill;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on ensuring that the infrastructure growth entailed by electricity market reform delivers maximum benefit to UK businesses and their supply chains.

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), meets the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), regularly to discuss energy and climate change policies, including how electricity market reform can deliver employment and maximum benefit to UK businesses. This includes support for supply chain and skills development and is a key part of the Government's industrial strategy.
	BIS and DECC are working jointly with industry to develop sector strategies to support the nuclear, offshore wind and oil and gas industries. Assessing the impact of the reform proposals on employment and UK business are part of the standard policy-making process between BIS and DECC.

Environment Protection: Employment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) England and (d) the UK were employed in the global environment goods and services sector in 2011-12.

Michael Fallon: The latest data for 2010/11 are as follows:
	(a) Data are not held at this level;
	(b) Data are not published at this level; however, for Yorks and Humber estimated employment in the Low carbon and environmental goods and services sector (LCEGS) was around 68,000 employees in 2010/11;
	(c) For England estimated total employment in the LCEGS sector was around 790,000 employees for 2010/11;
	(d) For the UK estimated total employment in the LCEGS sector was around 940,000 employees for 2010/11.
	All figures have been rounded. Employment is a measure of the estimated numbers across all parts of the supply chain.

Graphene

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the number of graphene patents in the UK relative to competitor nations.

Jo Swinson: The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) published a report in November 2011 which presents an overview of patenting in the field of graphene by UK resident inventors and applicants. It is available on the IPO website
	http://www.ipo.gov.uk/informatic-graphene-uk.pdf
	Figure 1 of the report has been reproduced as follows and shows the number of worldwide published patent applications by the country the applicant resides in.
	
		
			 Applicant country Number of published patent applications 
			 USA 1,164 
			 Japan 374 
			 Korea 303 
			 Germany 124 
			 China 94 
			 France 48 
			 Switzerland 46 
			 United Kingdom 46 
			 Cyprus 19 
			 Brazil 16 
			 Australia 15 
			 Finland 15 
			 Belgium 13 
			 Israel 13 
			 Uruguay 13 
			 Canada 12 
			 Ireland 12 
			 Netherlands 12 
			 Italy 9 
			 Russia 8 
			 Singapore 8 
			 Norway 7 
			 Ukraine 4 
			 Sweden 3

Graphene

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (a) what statistics are held, (b) what research and studies have been commissioned and (c) what future projections have been made by his Department and its executive agencies on the number of graphene patents in the UK relative to competitor nations; and if he will place any such statistics, research and projections in the Library.

Jo Swinson: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) and (b) The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) published two reports in November 2011 which present an overview of patenting in the field of graphene. The first report provides a worldwide overview and the second report focuses on activity by UK resident applicants and inventors. Both reports are available on the IPO website:
	http://www.ipo.gov.uk/informatic-graphene.pdf
	and
	http://www.ipo.gov.uk/informatic-graphene-uk.pdf
	Copies will also be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	(c) The IPO does not hold any future projections on the number of patents by UK applicants.

Money Lenders: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce illegal money lending in Brigg and Goole constituency.

Jo Swinson: Until April 2012 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) directly funded Trading Standards to take on complex cases which crossed individual local authority boundaries. This included setting up an Illegal Money Lending Team for England.
	On 1 April 2012, the Government published its response to the consultation on Empowering and Protecting Consumers, which set out the decision to establish a National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) for England and Wales. During 2012/13, the NTSB has continued to fund the delivery of the Illegal Money Lending Team in England, which includes the same level of protection in Yorkshire and the Humber. The NTSB reports to BIS on progress on a quarterly basis, and BIS is represented on the NTSB.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Jo Swinson: The code of accounts provides detail of expenditure against advertising and media, a generic description that is much wider than advertising job vacancies. It includes promotional advertising, notices, job advertising and many other forms of advertising.
	The financial data provided by BIS does not go down to the level of granularity required to extract the information required as outlined in this question.
	This information is not readily available within the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many individual awards from Round One of the Regional Growth Fund have not yet received a final agreed offer; and what the monetary value is of each of those awards.

Michael Fallon: Four individual awards out of 67 from Round 1 of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) have not yet received a final agreed offer letter as the companies have not been able to agree terms and conditions. Officials from the RGF Secretariat are agreeing a way forward with the companies to enable them to sign their final offer letters in line with Round 3 deadlines. The following table lists the monetary value of each of these awards.
	
		
			 Number £ million 
			 1 4,010,000 
			 2 12,900,000 
			 3 2,000,000 
			 4 17,850,000

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (a) how many and (b) which successful bids to the Regional Growth Fund have (i) received an agreed offer, (ii) received a final offer letter, (iii) drawn down funding and (iv) not yet reached these stages in each (A) region, (B) local authority and (C) funding round.

Michael Fallon: A table giving detail on all selected bidders from Rounds 1 and 2 of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) with which the Department has agreed final terms has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Where bidders have drawn down funding, this is indicated. RGF support is drawn down based on need and paid in arrears. Therefore many of the bidders who have not yet drawn down funding have nevertheless begun their project or programme, are delivering against the terms in their final offer, including job targets, and will draw the funding down at a future agreed date.
	In addition to the selected bidders with whom the Department has agreed final terms in Rounds 1 and 2, there have been a number of withdrawals. As I stated in my written ministerial statement of 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 3WS, column a list of all withdrawals (to date) will be published in due course. There are also a small number of selected bidders in Rounds 1 and 2 with whom we have yet to agree final terms and as I stated in my written ministerial statement of 17 January 2013, Official Report, columns 41-42WS, those terms will have to be agreed by 19 April 2013.
	Due to commercial sensitivity we will only publish details of those bidders once they have completed those negotiations.
	With regard to Round 3, I announced in my written ministerial statement of 22 January 2013, Official Report, column 3WS, that of the 130 selected bidders, 123 had agreed conditional terms and seven had withdrawn. The Department is in negotiations with those 123 bidders to agree final terms by 19 April 2013. Due to commercial sensitivity we will only publish details of those bidders once they have completed those negotiations, However I can confirm that having recently agreed conditional terms, none of the Round 3 bidders have drawn down funds as yet.

UK Trade and Investment

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UK Trade and Investment employees were made redundant for underperformance in each year since 2006.

Jo Swinson: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is not an employer in its own right; for the majority of its human resource requirements it draws on civil service staff employed by one or other of its two parent Departments—the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
	BIS and FCO do not make individuals redundant for underperformance. Since 2006, two individuals working in UKTI have been dismissed for poor performance. If individuals are underperforming, they are helped to improve their performance through their parent Department's performance improvement measures prior to any dismissal procedures.
	We do not hold records for individuals employed locally at posts overseas who have been dismissed as they are employed by the Mission in the country where they are based.

UK Trade and Investment: India

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost of UK Trade and Investment delegations to India since 5 May 2010.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment's (UKTI) financial system records spend at a programme and team level. UKTI does not centrally hold records of historical costs against individual delegations. To provide this would require obtaining and analysing all local records since May 2010 and this can be done only at disproportionate cost.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the Government Equalities Office's top three policy implementation (a) successes and (b) failures have been since May 2010.

Maria Miller: The policy implementation priorities of the Government Equalities Office can be found in the Department's structural reform plan, progress against which is reported on the Government's business plan website
	http://transparency.number10.gov.uk/business-plan
	A broader look at implementation progress can be found in the Government's mid-term review document
	http://midtermreview.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
	published on 7 January 2013 and the Programme for Government Update
	http://midtermreview.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/programme-for-government-update/
	published on 9 January 2013.

Equal Pay

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to ensure that employers in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England implement equal pay for women.

Jo Swinson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 28 January 2013, Official Report, column 612W.

Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what proportion of procurement contracts offered by the Government Equalities Office has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception.

Helen Grant: On 18 December 2012 the Government Equalities Office (GEO) became part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Prior to that date GEO was part of the Home Office and all GEO contracts that could have been advertised on Contracts Finder would be included in returns and answers relating to the Home Office.

Senior Civil Servants

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many and what proportion of officials of the three most senior grades in the Government Equalities Office have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement, (c) left the Government Equalities Office for alternative employment, (d) been dismissed, (e) taken long-term sick leave and (f) taken administrative leave since May 2010.

Helen Grant: As of 4 September 2012 responsibility for the Government Equalities Office, formerly within the Home Office, moved to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The information requested is currently still held by the Home Office and will be provided by my hon. Friend the Minister for Security in PQ 139220.

HEALTH

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the number of care trusts that are encouraging families of people receiving Continuing Healthcare Funding to provide top-up payments through private agreements with care homes; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care provides that when an individual has been found eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, then the respective primary care trust is required to commission and fund an individualised package of care that will fully meet the person's assessed level of need. This does not therefore necessitate funding by the individual or their family.

Doctors: Standards

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has recently reviewed the procedure of doctor's fitness to practice hearings in the light of criticism of the lack of right to appeal by the General Medical Council; whether it has taken any steps to amend that procedure; and whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals in relation to this matter.

Daniel Poulter: The General Medical Council (GMC) has consulted on proposals to improve and modernise its fitness to practice adjudication processes, to enhance the independence of adjudication while continuing to protect patients and the public. The Department is working with the GMC to facilitate changes to its legislation to achieve these objectives.
	As part of these proposals, the GMC is seeking an appeal right, similar to and sitting alongside, the Professional Standards Authority's (PSA) current right to appeal unduly lenient decisions of the GMC's fitness to practise panels under section 29 of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002. We are aware that the recent Commons Health Committee Report (2012 accountability hearing with the GMC—published 3 December 2012) made a recommendation that the GMC should have such a right.
	The PSA has raised some questions about how this proposal would work in practice and the Department is exploring these. The Department acknowledges that there may be differing views, and we consider that the most appropriate course of action would be to consult on the issue as part of a public consultation on draft legislation in due course. We are also seeking technical advice from the Ministry of Justice on the appropriateness of a concurrent appeal right.
	We are working towards draft legislation for consultation, which would make a number of proposals for reform to the GMC's fitness to practise proceedings, and this proposal would be included within those measures.

Doctors: Standards

Stephen Barclay: EWHC 581 (Admin) and (b) any changes to legislation required in light of these judgments; whether his Department has taken any action with regard to this matter in the last (i) three and (ii) six months; and whether it plans to take any future action.

Daniel Poulter: The Department is aware of the Cohen decision, where the decision of a fitness to practise panel was overturned on appeal by the practitioner to the High Court on the ground that it was found to have approached the test for impairment of fitness to practise incorrectly. The Department has not made a formal assessment of this case. However, it and any other relevant case law, will be considered as part of current work on the General Medical Council's (GMC) fitness to practise processes.
	The GMC has consulted on proposals to improve and modernise its fitness to practice adjudication processes, to enhance the independence of adjudication while continuing to protect patients and the public. The Department is currently working with the GMC towards draft legislation for consultation to facilitate changes to achieve these objectives.

Health Services: Dependants

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the costs to the NHS were of treatment of people residing in the UK as an adult dependent relative of a permanent resident of the UK in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.

Anna Soubry: The Department does not hold this information.

Health: Standards

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will direct Public Health England to prioritise the development of a Quality and Outcomes Framework indicator that would award points to GPs to advise, prescribe and recommend appropriate guidance and support from the wide range of sources available in the community;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to incentivise GPs to advise, prescribe and recommend appropriate guidance and support for overweight and obese patients.

Daniel Poulter: From April 2013 Public Health England (PHE) will set priorities for developing new and amended public health indicators in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), in consultation with the devolved Administrations. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) will continue to manage the process of reviewing and developing indicators for QOF, both clinical and public health, based on NICE or NICE accredited evidence as they have since April 2009.
	We are committed to applying evidence of what works in tackling obesity and other challenges to the public's health and well-being. While the Secretary of State for Health will set strategic priorities for PHE and hold it to account, PHE will have operational autonomy in setting priorities for developing QOF public health indicators.
	The QOF incentivises general practitioner (GP) practices to identify and keep a record each year of patients aged 16 and over with a body mass index greater than or equal to 30. This encourages GPs to identify patients who need lifestyle advice and provides information to public health professionals and commissioners on levels of need.

Heart Diseases

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2012, Official Report, column 414W, on heart diseases, when in early 2013 the Patient Decision Aid on stroke prevention for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter will be made available; and what will be included in that publication.

Anna Soubry: We expect the Patient Decision Aid on stroke prevention for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter to be made available in March 2013. The publication will give patients sufficient information to understand the condition, the decisions on treatment options they are facing for stroke prevention and a consideration of the outcomes and trade-offs they will have to make to come to a decision.

Hyperactivity

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safeguards exist to ensure that GPs adhere to clinical practice when diagnosing ADHD.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance ‘Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Diagnosis and management of ADHD in children, young people and adults’, published in 2008 sets out recommendations of best practice based on the evidence available.
	Health care professionals are expected to fully take into account the guidelines issued by NICE when exercising their clinical judgment.
	The chief medical officer, Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer and NHS Medical Director wrote to health care professionals, including general practitioners and medical directors of national health service trusts in December 2011 about developments in child mental health, drawing particular attention to a review of the ADHD guidance. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	The General Medical Council is the independent regulator for doctors in the United Kingdom. Their statutory purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine.

Hyperactivity: Children

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has made of the number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Norman Lamb: The Department has made no such assessment. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, ‘Attention deficit hyperactive disorder: Diagnosis and management of ADHD in children, young people and adults’, published in 2008 state that around 1-2% cent of children and young people in the United Kingdom meet the criteria for severe ADHD and up to 9% may meet the broader criteria for mild or moderate ADHD.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey ‘Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004’ (ONS 2005) suggest that around 1.5% of children have Hyperkinetic Disorder, which is a term used by the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) to refer to the more severe form of ADHD.

Medicine: Research

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to support the NHS Commissioning Board in its duty to promote research.

Daniel Poulter: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield) on 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 705W.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure the prompt introduction of the new meningitis B vaccine into the childhood immunisation schedule.

Anna Soubry: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is currently evaluating possible meningococcal B vaccination strategies. The evaluation is anticipated to be completed later this year.
	Any decisions about implementing a national childhood immunisation schedule will be announced in due course once the Department has received and considered JCVI's advice.
	The Department is working with the NHS Commissioning Board and Public Health England to plan for the implementation of a potential meningococcal B immunisation programme, subject to the advice of JCVI.

Mental Illness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the incidence of mental illness among (a) home owners, (b) social sector tenants and (c) private sector tenants.

Norman Lamb: No such estimate has been made.

Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 881W, on publications, if he would place a copy of staff magazine, Link in the Library.

Daniel Poulter: As described in the response dated 17 January, the Department used to produce a printed magazine (Link), but this ceased nearly two years ago. We only hold one master copy on file, which has been placed in the Library. The new version of the magazine, DHLife, launched back in December, is electronic. It is hosted on our intranet and contains links to other pages on our intranet which would mean that while we could share the link, access would not be possible without a Department of Health account.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which Ministers from his Department have met representatives of (a) Varian Medical Systems, (b) Elekta and (c) Accuray between May 2010 and April 2012.

Norman Lamb: None.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: Since May 2010, £59,136 was spent on advertising civil service vacancies at all grades in the Department.
	In the years 2011-12 and 2012-13, a combined total of £47,902 was spent on advertising civil service vacancies. This is compared to £511,261 in the years 2008-09 and 2009-10.

Ritalin

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the increase in prescriptions being issued for the Ritalin form of the drug methylphenidate in the last 10 years.

Norman Lamb: The following table shows the number of prescription items dispensed for the Ritalin brand of methylphenidate hydrochloride has declined in the latest available 10 year period. In the same period prescription items dispensed for all methylphenidate hydrochloride, as listed in British National Formulary section 4.4 ‘CNS stimulants and drugs used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder’, increased.
	
		
			 Number of methylphenidate hydrochloride prescription items written in the UK and dispensed in the community in England, 2002-11 
			 Thousand 
			  Ritalin brand of Methylphenidate Hydrochloride All Methylphenidate Hydrochloride listed in BNF 4.4, including Ritalin 
			 2002 161.8 254.0 
			 2003 124.5 314.5 
			 2004 67.8 359.1 
			 2005 30.7 389.2 
			 2006 26.5 456.9 
			 2007 25.5 535.3 
			 2008 22.8 573.4 
			 2009 20.2 610.2 
			 2010 18.8 661.5 
			 2011 18.6 714.8 
			 Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system. The Health and Social Care Information Centre, Prescribing and Primary Care Service

JUSTICE

Community Orders

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has any plans to increase the use of fines for offenders sentenced to community penalties.

Jeremy Wright: In October 2012, the Government introduced provisions in the Crime and Courts Bill to ensure that in future all community orders should include a punitive element. Such a punitive element could be a restriction of liberty (such as a curfew) or a fine. The decision to impose a fine or another punitive element will be left to the discretion of the courts.

G4S

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 728W, on G4S, 
	(1)  if he will publish his Department's contract with G4S in respect of total facilities management;
	(2)  whether reductions in staff (a) numbers and (b) hours are (i) specified and (ii) permitted under his Department's contract with G4S in respect of total facilities management.

Jeremy Wright: Those elements of the G4S contract in respect of Total Facilities Management which we are able to publish can be found at:
	http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/?site=l000&lang=en
	This excludes publication of the NEC standard terms and conditions of the contractual documentation as these are copyright.
	The Ministry of Justice Total Facilities Management Contract with G4S went live on 1 February 2012. A key objective of the tender process was to reduce costs to MOJ, while improving efficiency through standardisation, throughout the life of the contract. Accordingly, the contract permits, but does not specify, reductions in staff numbers and hours where detriment to service standards and delivery to output specifications are not compromised.

Judicial Review

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to paragraph 35 of his Department's Consultation Paper CP25/2012 on Judicial Review: Proposals for Reform, what reasons there are for stating that the threat of judicial review has an unduly negative effect on decision makers.

Helen Grant: Prior to the publication of the engagement exercise, initial work with Government Departments suggested that the threat of judicial review had an impact on the approach to decision making which they and other public bodies took to reduce the risk of a successful legal challenge.

Judicial Review

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many applications for permission to apply for judicial review in asylum or immigration cases were (a) received, (b) granted and (c) refused in each of the last five years for which records are held; and how many of the granted applications were (i) allowed, (ii) dismissed and (iii) withdrawn;
	(2)  how many applications for permission to apply for judicial review in asylum and immigration cases in each of the last five years for which records are held relate to unresolved cases.

Helen Grant: The following table shows the number of immigration and asylum judicial review cases, by year, that fall into each category requested in question 140039:
	
		
			 Judicial review civil—immigration and asylum 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 (a) Received 4,592 6,629 8,120 8,807 9,911 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Granted 468 481 749 612 781 
			 (c) Refused 3,367 2,991 4,434 4,635 5,873 
			 (i) Allowed 47 52 62 54 44 
			 (ii) Dismissed (after permission granted) 87 74 95 68 83 
			 (iii) Withdrawn (at substantive hearing) 9 10 5 4 6 
		
	
	As at the end of December 2012, there were 4,830 live judicial review civil immigration and asylum cases in the Administrative Court. The following table shows the number of cases that are still live, by the year that they were issued:
	
		
			 Year of issue Number of live cases 
			 Pre 2008 16 
			 2008 15 
			 2009 25 
			 2010 109 
			 2011 417 
			 2012 4,248 
			 Total 4,830

Travel

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) destination, (b) purpose and (c) cost was of each first class (i) rail and (ii) aeroplane journey undertaken by (A) Ministers and (B) officials in his Department since May 2010.

Chris Grayling: Neither I nor my ministerial team travel first class.
	The majority of bookings of rail and air travel are done through an outsourced agency. The Department's expenditure booked through the agency on first class rail and air travel from May 2010 to December 2012 (the latest period for which data is available) is given in the following table, along with the corresponding figures for April 2009 to March 2010:
	
		
			 Total expenditure 
			 £000 
			 Type of journey May 2010 to December 2012 April 2009 to March 2010 
			 Rail 1,270 4,397 
			 Air 8 8 
		
	
	The new travel and subsistence policy introduced for 2010-11 contains robust restrictions on using first class travel. However, the policy does recognise that in certain cases, first class travel can be undertaken with senior management approval. The restrictions resulted in a 93% reduction in expenditure on first class travel in 2011-12, compared to 2009-10 because of the restrictions imposed.
	The majority of the remaining spend on first class relates to travel costs of the judiciary, which is allowed within their terms and conditions.
	In order to further reduce expenditure across the Department's budgets and provide better value for money for the taxpayer. I have initiated a review of all of the Department's discretionary spend. Further to the existing controls I have also put in place an immediate ban on all 1st class and business travel for civil servants working for the Department, recognising occasional exceptions to this to support disabled staff in carrying out their duties, where reasonable to do so.
	Information on ministerial overseas travel is published on a quarterly basis on our Department's website at
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/transparency-data

Young Offender Institutions

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to close any secure youth establishments within the next 12 months.

Jeremy Wright: We are taking steps to remove surplus capacity in the youth estate. On 10 January the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), announced plans to negotiate a change to the function of HMYOI Ashfield and re-role it to a prison to hold adult male prisoners.
	The youth secure estate must meet the needs of demand and provide best value for money for the taxpayer. We are carrying out a review of youth custody with the intention of bringing down costs and developing a much stronger focus on education.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Badgers

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (a) what recent estimate he has made of and (b) whether he has commissioned any research on the number of badgers in the UK.

David Heath: Based on national population surveys of badger social groups carried out in the 1980s and 1990s, there were estimated to be between 250,000 and 300,000 badgers in Great Britain. We have commissioned a national survey of the badger population in England and Wales. This is being carried out by the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), over two years, having started in autumn 2011. A more detailed description of the current survey is available online at:
	http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu &Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=18014

Beef: Horse Meat

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to review the role of (a) the Food Standards Agency, (b) meat processing companies and (c) supermarkets and other retailers.

David Heath: Food businesses must operate within the law and to the highest standards of food safety and consumer protection.
	The role of the Food Standards Agency was considered at the beginning of this Parliament and set out in the Prime Minister's statement of 20 July 2010, Official Report, column 12WS, as part of the Government's review of arm’s length bodies. The agency is responsible for food safety and food hygiene across the UK. It also has the statutory objective of protecting consumers, including through effective food enforcement and monitoring. The FSA is a non-Ministerial Government Department and does not have any role in the promotion or support of any food businesses.

Floods: Woking

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) homes and (b) businesses were at risk of flooding in Woking constituency in each of the last five years.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency's National Flood Risk Assessment indicates that over the last five years, 3,741 properties in the Woking parliamentary constituency have been at risk of flooding from rivers, 3,153 residential and 588 non-residential.
	Of these, 158 residential and 73 non-residential properties are in the significant risk category, where the chance of a flood is greater than 1.3% or 1 in 75 in any given year
	The Hoe Valley Flood Alleviation Scheme, completed in 2012, has reduced the risk of flooding for 198 of these properties from a 1 in 25 probability of flooding in any year for over 80 of them, to less than 1 in 100. The Environment Agency will update the published information about flood risk that they make available to the public later in the year. The scheme was part of a wider regeneration partnership project with Woking borough council, which also removed the contaminated Westfield Tip from the floodplain and now provides a platform for new housing and growth. I am looking forward to visiting this area in the spring to see the benefits this has brought.

Food: Labelling

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the value of restoring food labelling and provenance policy to the Food Standards Agency;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the operation of food labelling and provenance policy; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: On 20 July 2010 the Prime Minister stated:
	‘The Government recognises the important role of the Food Standards Agency in England, which will continue to be responsible for food safety. The Food Standards Agency will remain a non ministerial Department reporting to Parliament through health Ministers.
	In England, nutrition policy will become a responsibility of the Secretary of State for Health. Food labelling and food composition policy, where not related to food safety, will become a responsibility of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.’
	This position remains the case.
	DEFRA and FSA officials are working closely together on the investigation into the findings of horse and pig DNA in beef products to see what has happened and to develop a study of food authenticity in a range of processed meat products. The FSA is also working closely with the authorities in Ireland.

Food: Labelling

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Minister for Agriculture in the Republic of Ireland on food labelling and provenance policy issues.

David Heath: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), met the Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine on 29 January 2013 in Dublin where they spoke about horse meat.
	Officials from both the Food Standards Agency and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland have been in close contact with one another during the discussions in Brussels to update food labelling legislation. More recently they have met together to discuss areas of mutual interest regarding labelling.
	As follow-up to the publication of research on horsemeat DNA in burgers, there has also been a four-way information exchange between the two agricultural Departments and the two food agencies in the UK and Ireland.

Ivory

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had at the United Nations on the enforcement of international treaties banning the trade in ivory and ivory poaching.

Richard Benyon: The UK has not had recent discussions at the United Nations on international trade in ivory and ivory poaching. In our statement during the UN General Assembly's Second Committee debate on sustainable development in November 2012, the UK did support the need for enforcement action to tackle illegal wildlife trafficking. We also expressed concern over the illegal poaching of rhino horn.

Ivory

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has made to his counterparts from countries in Africa and Asia on pressures on elephant populations in both continents and the continued enforcement of UN conventions on the trade in ivory.

Richard Benyon: The UK is concerned about the conservation of elephant populations in both Africa and Asia. We are actively working with the international community to maintain and enforce the current ban on the international trade in ivory. Elephant issues will be on the agenda of the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, taking place in March in Bangkok. The Department has undertaken outreach activities in preparation for this meeting. We have made representations through UK embassies and high commissions to a number of countries in Africa and Asia about proposals of particular interest to the UK, including those concerning elephants and trade in ivory.

LionAid

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department and (c) officials of his Department have had regarding funding for UK Charity LionAid.

Richard Benyon: I am aware that LionAid presented proposals to the Department for funding particular projects to support the aim of lion conservation towards the end of last year. Officials have considered these proposals. However, given the many other demands on the public purse in these constrained financial times and that the vast majority of funding for this financial year was already committed, it has not been possible to support these projects in this financial year.

Livestock: Transport

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his contribution of 13 December 2012, Official Report, column 529, on live animal exports, under what conditions Article 10 enables him to withdraw the authorisation of a live animal transporter to operate in the UK.

David Heath: Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005, Article 10 relates to the requirements for transporter authorisation. Before a transporter can become authorised as a transporter of animals in Great Britain, the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) will check that the applicant or their representatives have no record of serious infringements of Community and/or national legislation on the protection of animals, in the preceding three years. This provision does not apply where the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of AHVLA that they have taken all necessary measures to avoid further infringements. Where a transporter applies for an authorisation in another member state, it is the responsibility of the Competent Authority in that member state to carry out the necessary checks on the history of the transporter as part of their authorisation process. AHVLA has no power to withdraw an authorisation issued in another member state under Article 10.

Organic Farming: Cereals

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will allow organic farmers to purchase cereals for seed from other organic farmers provided that the grain is cleaned by a contractor under the plant royalties legislation and all royalties are paid.

David Heath: It is a legal requirement that marketed seed is certified under the process, to assure the quality of seed bought by farmers. This prevents direct sale of uncertified seed between farmers. If there is a shortage of certified seed, for example because of poor harvest conditions leading to difficulties with germination, it is possible to ask the European Commission and other member states for a derogation from the usual requirements to increase availability.
	DEFRA has not been approached by farmers or seed suppliers about this issue and has not asked for a derogation. We will need good evidence to convince the Commission and member states that a derogation is needed and that alternative seed is not available elsewhere in the EU. We are reliant on the UK industry to provide much of this information.

Press: Subscriptions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on newspapers and periodicals in 2011-12.

Richard Benyon: This information is not held centrally. However, most newspapers and publications are ordered through the core DEFRA library service, Press Office and Private Offices. The total spend by these groups on newspapers and periodicals in the financial year 2011-12 was £74,985.91.

Schmallenberg Virus

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to his recent estimate that the Schmallenberg virus had caused losses in the region of two to five per cent in affected herds, whether he plans to update his general assessment of the virus.

David Heath: Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is not a notifiable disease and as such reporting of cases is voluntary. Through enhanced surveillance and DEFRA-funded testing we have determined that SBV is now present in all rural counties of England. DEFRA officials are in regular liaison with industry, especially at the Animal Health Veterinary Laboratory Agency (AHVLA) investigation centres and through their scanning surveillance Species Expert Groups. As the new season of lambing gets under way we continue to share information on SBV with vets and farmers on the impact it is having. Final results from a voluntary online SBV survey for sheep farmers carried out after lambing in 2012 will be available shortly. In addition AHVLA are working with industry, including the National Sheep Association and the NFU, to support information gathering on SBV that will continue to improve our understanding of the impact without being unduly onerous on individual farmers.

Trees: Disease Control

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to safeguard native tree species from the threat of disease.

David Heath: Last October the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs introduced a ban on the movement of ash trees, and as recently as last week he introduced tighter controls which require notification by importers of consignments of oaks, sweet chestnuts and plane trees, allowing plant health inspectors to target inspections better.
	The Secretary of State instructed Professor Ian Boyd to convene the independent taskforce on tree and plant health, chaired by Professor Chris Gilligan. We welcome its interim recommendations, which presented radical ideas to safeguard Britain's trees from disease, and keenly await its final report, which will be published in the spring along with the updated Chalara control plan.

Wildlife: Smuggling

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to prevent the illegal wildlife trade.

Richard Benyon: Primary responsibility for enforcing wildlife trade legislation rests with the police service and the UK Border Agency. DEFRA actively supports their activities through the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime.
	DEFRA, together with the Home Office, is the main source of funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). Both Departments have recently confirmed that they will each provide funding of £136,000 to support the Unit for a further year. The NWCU spearheads national action to reduce wildlife crime and is the UK's focal point for international wildlife crime inquiries.
	The UK has selected wildlife crime priorities for urgent action, one of which is the illegal trade in species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Endangered species listed on Annex A to CITES require licences in order to be traded within the UK. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency operates a panel of wildlife inspectors who carry out inspections to ensure that the legislation is complied with. It also has an enforcement team which provides information from its records in support of prosecutions.
	Internationally, we play an active role in CITES to strengthen the advice, assistance and tools provided to help range states enforce CITES controls and combat illegal wildlife trade. We support a wide range of actions to tackle illegal wildlife trade, including: financial contributions to Interpol-led projects which build enforcement capacity in range states to conserve tigers, elephants and rhino; funding a post in the CITES Secretariat to help combat wildlife crime; and chairing the CITES Rhino Working Group tasked with investigating the drivers behind, and possible solutions to, the dramatic rise in rhino poaching.
	The UK Government is also a member of, and has previously chaired, the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking. This is an international organisation that aims to focus public and political attention and resources on ending the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Fire Services: Vehicles

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department gives to fire authorities on the (a) fitting and (b) use of covert lights for fire authority senior management vehicles; whether he requires each fire authority to inform his Department of the (i) fitting, (ii) cost and (iii) use of any such covert lights; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the use of such covert lights is (A) operationally appropriate and (B) value-for-money.

Brandon Lewis: My Department has not issued any advice on the fitting and use of covert lights for fire authority senior management, neither does it seek information on these issues from fire and rescue authorities. It is for each individual fire and rescue authority to ensure that the use of covert lights is operationally appropriate, provides value for money, and meets the requirements of relevant legislation. The use of blue lights on an emergency service vehicle are regulated under the. Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989.

Housing: Construction

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the highest tax is which he estimates will be levied by local authorities for a single family-sized development of three or less bedrooms under the (a) community infrastructure levy and (b) affordable housing levy.

Nicholas Boles: We have not made such estimates.
	The Community Infrastructure Levy was introduced by the last Administration.
	This Government has introduced a series of practical reforms, including preventing developers being double charged and making clear in guidance that councils can set a zero rate if they wish. The levy is locally determined and any rate must be based on evidence of economic viability and infrastructure need.
	We are currently reviewing what further steps can be taken to ensure that self-build and genuine small-scale development is not adversely affected by the introduction of the levy.
	In relation to Section 106 agreements, we have introduced reforms to help renegotiate economically unrealistic deals, and so deliver more housing and more affordable housing than would otherwise be the case.

Housing: Construction

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has received any recent representations on the effect of newly introduced (a) national and (b) local taxes on the development of new single dwelling houses.

Nicholas Boles: It is still early days for the Community Infrastructure Levy, which was introduced by the previous Government through the Planning Act 2008. The Government continues to listen to issues raised by those charging and paying the levy and has already reformed the levy to improve how it operates. We are currently reviewing what further steps can be taken to ensure that self-build and genuine small-scale development is not adversely affected by the introduction of the levy.

Local Government Finance

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the inflationary pressures specific to local government in each of the next five years.

Brandon Lewis: There are no inflation figures specifically for the local government sector. However, the right hon. Member may wish to refer to the measures of inflation published in the Office for Budget Responsibility December 2012 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (retail prices index, consumer prices index and gross domestic product deflator). These can be found on the Office for Budget Responsibility website via the following links:
	http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/December-2012-Economic-and-fiscal-outlook23423423.pdf
	http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/wordpress/docs/Copy-of-December-2012-EFO-economy-supplementary-tables2343.xls

Non-domestic Rates

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities (a) have introduced and (b) plan to introduce 12-monthly business rate collections.

Brandon Lewis: We do not hold figures on this matter. Local authorities and ratepayers can agree the mariner in which bills will be paid, including agreements to pay in 12 instalments.

Right to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on promoting the right to buy policy in each financial year of the present Parliament to date; and what it plans to spend on such promotion in each remaining financial year of the present Parliament.

Mark Prisk: The Department spent nothing on promoting the right to buy policy in 2010-11. In the financial year 2011-12 a total of £17,728 was committed on right to buy products, mainly comprising new leaflets, summarising the reinvigorated scheme from 1 April 2012, for local authorities. and other social landlords to distribute to potentially eligible tenants, posters for landlords to display and reprinted application forms. To date DCLG has spent £1.14 million on promoting the right to buy policy in 2012-13, using direct mail as the primary channel. We are committed to ensuring that tenants are aware of the increased discount levels and their rights, and to help them come to well informed decisions about home ownership for them. Tenants cannot exercise their new enhanced rights if they do not know about them.
	Plans for further expenditure are not sufficiently firm to publish at this time and depend on results to date from the marketing activities.
	To place this spending on marketing and advertising in context, DCLG has cut spending on marketing and advertising from £9.9 million in 2009-10, to £898,000 in 2010-11 and £980,000 in 2011-12.

Right to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a geographical analysis of Government spending on promoting the right to buy policy, setting out (a) total spending and (b) purchase of advertising space by (i) local authority area and (ii) any other geographical area for which data is available.

Mark Prisk: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of today, PQ 140006, for total spending to date on promoting the Right to Buy policy. Advertising space was purchased in local newspapers and on poster sites in London and the West Midlands during July 2012. In addition, advertising space was purchased in social housing newsletters across the country. This initial targeting reflected high levels of council housing stock and the willingness of councils to work with us. The total costs for space (excluding printing and design costs) were: £334,796 for posters, £70,136 for newspaper advertising and £37,516 for space in social housing newsletters.
	The posters and newspaper advertising appeared the following local authority areas: Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Birmingham, Brent, Bromsgrove and Redditch, Camden, Cannock Chase, Croydon, Dudley, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hackney, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, North Warwickshire, Redbridge, Rugby, Sandwell, Shropshire, Southwark, Stoke on Trent, Solihull, Sutton, Tamworth, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Warwick, Welwyn and Hatfield, Westminster and Wolverhampton. Some advertising, such as online, was at a national level.

Shops: Government Assistance

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether Pop-Up Britain (a) has received or (b) is to receive any financial support or benefits in kind from public funds.

Mark Prisk: StartUp Britain, which is responsible for the PopUp Britain campaign, has not received any direct financial support from DCLG. The Department has allowed StartUp Britain to re-use a meeting room in its Eland House headquarters to host a PopUp shop, which will offer affordable retail space to over 150 small start-up businesses over the coming year.
	StartUp Britain also received £10,800 of funding from the StartUp Loans Company in 2012. Determining whether StartUp Britain has received income or benefits in kind from the wider public sector could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
	I would be delighted to invite the hon. Member to join me for a tour of the PopUp Shop later this year.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Council Tax Benefits: Veterans

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of ex-service personnel that would benefit if all local authorities disregarded income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to council tax benefit.

Steve Webb: No estimate has been made.

Council Tax Benefits: Veterans

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to the Exchequer that would be incurred if all local authorities disregarded income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to council tax benefit.

Steve Webb: No estimate has been made.
	In Great Britain, the first £10 per week of war pensions for bereavement and disablement is disregarded as income for the purposes of determining entitlement to council tax benefit and housing benefit.
	Councils have the flexibility to operate local schemes whereby up to 100% of war pension and armed forces compensation scheme payments are disregarded. 375 local authorities report disregarding additional income under such a scheme.
	In 2011-12, the Department supported these schemes with additional funding in excess of £19.7 million.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of cancer patients in (a) the support group and (b) the work related activity group of employment and support allowance (ESA) who will see their income fall as a result of the Government's decision to uprate components of ESA by one per cent rather than by the level of the consumer price index;
	(2)  what plans he has to review the ability of cancer patients to cope with the increases in the cost of living in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: There are no data available which would allow us to identify the impact of the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill on particular health condition groups in receipt of ESA.
	The Department produces National Statistics on the employment and support allowance (ESA) caseload, including breakdown by health condition group and phase of ESA claim. This can be found at:
	http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html
	In making difficult decisions about benefit uprating, we have sought to protect the most vulnerable, including continuing to uprate the Support Group component of ESA with reference to prices. The Employment and Support Allowance (Amendment) Regulations 2012 that came into force on 28 January make it easier for people with cancer to get the support they require and mean that hundreds more people who are awaiting, receiving, or recovering from any form of chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer will be placed in the Support Group for employment and support allowance where they will get the help they need while unable to work.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received Youth Contract wage subsidies in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England since the inception of the scheme; and what the average number is in each parliamentary constituency in England.

Mark Hoban: The Youth Contract, including wage incentives, went live on April 2012 and in most cases wage incentives are paid after a young person has been in work continuously for 26 weeks. Following the collection and quality assurance of this data, I expect the first set of Official Statistics on the wage incentive to be available in the early part of 2013. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.

Future Jobs Fund

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment has been made of the effect of the two-year gap between the ending of the Future Jobs Fund and the start of the Youth Contract on levels of long-term youth unemployment.

Mark Hoban: No such assessment is possible as the period over which the Future Jobs Fund was run down coincided with the introduction of new provision to help young people into employment such as work experience, sector-based work academies and the Work programme. Excluding students, youth ILO unemployment is down by 30,000 since the 2010 election and the number of young people claiming jobseeker's allowance has fallen by 9,000. Over the three years from April 2012 the Youth Contract is expected to provide nearly half a million new opportunities for young people.

Housing Benefit

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the housing benefit claimants who will be affected by the restrictions on under-occupied social housing are in work in (a) the UK and (b) Wales.

Steve Webb: We estimate that from April 2013 140,000 housing benefit claimants in the UK will be affected by the under-occupancy change in the social rented sector, where either the claimant or their partner are in work.
	We also estimate that in Wales around 40,000 working age housing benefit claimants will be affected. Data as to how many of these are in work is not available.

Pension, Disability and Carers Service: Telephone Services

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the ease of use of the Pension Service's telephone system for pensioners contacting the agency.

Mark Hoban: The Department's telephony system was introduced partly in response to the Government's desire to offer modernised service through increased customer choice, and partly to respond to customer frustrations in customer satisfaction surveys that more services could not be handled by phone.
	The Department uses 0845 numbers because they are readily recognised and understood by our customers. In the past, DWP was criticised for the large number of geographic 01 and 02 numbers it used. Consequently, DWP rationalised its published telephone numbers and introduced national 08 numbers for its services. These changes have enabled DWP to undertake more effective and targeted marketing of these services at a national and local level, using a small number of national numbers rather than the wide range of geographic numbers that were previously used.
	The messaging and options menu on the Department's 0845 and 0800 service lines (known as the Interactive Voice Service) is designed to clearly and concisely inform callers of the service line they have contacted and the options available to them. This system enables the caller to be put through to an appropriately skilled telephony agent to handle their call.
	If a customer raises a concern over the length of a call and requests it, our agents will end the call and ring them back.
	Callers who may have communication difficulties may permit a representative, such as a family member or friend, to speak on their behalf when they call. The use of representatives and appointees not only helps claimants to access our services, but also helps the Department obtain accurate information to make a claim or answer a query.

Poverty

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the potential effect of the provisions of the Welfare Benefit Uprating Bill on levels of in-work poverty.

Steve Webb: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 715W. Of this total, we estimate around 50% will be in families with at least one person in employment.

Poverty: Children

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the potential effect of the provisions of the Welfare Benefit Uprating Bill on the number of children in (a) working households, (b) workless households and (c) all households experiencing both relative and absolute poverty in (i) 2014-15, (ii) 2015-16 and (iii) 2020-21.

Steve Webb: This question cannot be answered without incurring disproportionate cost.

Recruitment

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on advertising job vacancies since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: Most DWP vacancies are advertised through overall resourcing packages and costs for advertising job vacancies are not separately itemised.
	Very infrequently, the Department advertises for senior civil service (SCS) vacancies using specialist online sites. DWP has spent £6,898.00 on advertising of senior civil service (SCS) job vacancies since May 2010. This amount relates to small sums of less than £1,000 for online advertisements for specific professional posts.

Social Rented Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people affected by the under-occupancy changes in the social rented sector from April 2013 who will be in work.

Steve Webb: DWP estimate the number of housing benefit claimants affected by the under-occupancy changes in the social rented sector from April 2013 is about 140,000 where either the claimant or their partner will be in work.
	Note
	Estimate is rounded to the nearest 20,000.
	Source
	Policy Simulation Model (PSM) output based on family Resources Survey (FRS) data from 2009-10.

Social Security Benefits: Greater London

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding he will make available to local authorities in the east of England who agree to rehouse those families previously resident in Greater London affected by the benefit cap; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Government has significantly increased the budget for discretionary housing payments in Great Britain as a whole by £100 million over the spending review period to enable local authorities to help workless families who may have to move if their benefit is capped.
	We continue to work with all local authorities on the impacts of welfare reform to ensure we fully understand the implications for local authorities and their staff.
	Homeless households solely reliant on benefits should not expect to be housed in properties that are unaffordable to working families. However, in the vast majority of cases, this will not mean local authorities have to move homeless households far away from their communities.
	We have put in place strengthened legislation so authorities must, if they regard it as essential to move a family, carefully consider the impact a change in location would have, including possible disruption to employment, education and caring responsibilities of the claimant and their family.

Unemployment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason figures for the number of unemployed people per vacancy will no longer be available by parliamentary constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Headline figures on the number of unfilled vacancies at a point in time are published by the Office for National Statistics, based on a regular survey of employers. The sample size of the survey is too small to allow information to be published below national level, so comparisons of the number of unemployed people per vacancy by parliamentary constituency have never been available from this source. Some users have previously attempted to fill this gap using administrative data on the number of unfilled vacancies held locally by Jobcentre Plus.
	It is important to note that local level comparisons of the number of people unemployed and the number of unfilled vacancies need to be interpreted carefully. Using a snapshot of vacancies at a point in time misses the dynamism of the labour market and the regular turnover of new vacancies being notified as existing opportunities are filled. Such snapshots also typically miss the jobs that people can access in the wider labour market: for example, those outside the local constituency and those notified through other recruitment channels or filled by direct approaches to employers or word of mouth.
	The replacement of the Jobcentre Plus system of vacancy-taking with the new Universal Jobmatch service inevitably meant that existing comparisons would no longer be available, since the series for unfilled Jobcentre Plus vacancies ceased to exist. Universal Jobmatch is a major reform that brings significant benefits to jobseekers and employers alike. Headline statistics—which are already available via the Directgov website:
	https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/Reports/Reports.aspx
	show that nationally over 10,000 new vacancies a day are reported to Universal Jobmatch. Despite the limitations, the Department recognises that, in the absence of statistics from the ONS vacancy survey, there remains a demand for local level administrative data on unfilled vacancies. The intention has been and remains that broadly similar information to that available under the previous system—including the number of unfilled vacancies by parliamentary constituency area—will be introduced over time as resources allow.

Unemployment Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of reducing the real-terms value of out-of-work benefits through the provisions of the Welfare Benefit Uprating Bill on the well-being of parents and children in workless households.

Steve Webb: The impact assessment published alongside the Up-rating Bill sets out the estimated child and adult poverty effects of the decision to increase most benefits by 1% in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
	For those of working age, work remains the best and most immediate way out of poverty and we have continued to prioritise providing the best possible work incentives through Welfare Reform. Previous approaches to tackling poverty have focused on increases in income to bring people above the poverty line. Income matters, and must remain a key indicator in defining what it means to be in poverty. But it is now widely understood that the current relative income measure by itself is not an accurate picture of child poverty.
	This Government's strategy goes much wider, exploring how we can tackle the root causes of problems to promote real and sustained changes in peoples' lives. The Government is currently consulting on better measures of child poverty to inform its approach to eradicate child poverty.

Unemployment Benefit: Woking

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Woking constituency, (b) Surrey and (c) the UK in receipt of out-of-work benefits for (i) one year, (ii) two years and (iii) three years.

Mark Hoban: The following provides the requested data:
	
		
			 Out of work benefit claimants by statistical group and duration of oldest claim for Great Britain, Surrey and Woking parliamentary constituency: February 2012 
			  All Up to 1 year 1 to 2 years 2 to 3 years 3 years and over 
			 Great Britain 4,914,560 2,124,410 591,430 296,270 1,902,440 
			 Jobseeker’s Allowance 1,589,640 1,255,370 249,790 56,290 28,180 
			 Incapacity Benefits 2,557,680 641,560 204,450 147,410 1,564,270 
			 Lone Parents 584,170 161,300 111,200 76,720 234,950 
			 Carers 125,690 29,970 19,700 13,220 62,800 
			 Other Income Related Benefits 57,380 36,210 6,280 2,640 12,250 
			       
			 Surrey 42,630 18,320 4,700 2,880 16,740 
			 Jobseeker’s Allowance 12,490 10,390 1,440 420 240 
			 Incapacity Benefits 23,190 5,780 1,940 1,600 13,860 
			 Lone Parents 5,680 1,620 1,130 760 2,160 
			 Carers 800 200 140 90 370 
			 Other Income Related Benefits 470 320 40 10 100 
			       
			 Woking Parliamentary Constituency 4,160 1,810 410 280 1,660 
			 Jobseeker’s Allowance 1,150 980 100 40 20 
			 Incapacity Benefits 2,320 600 190 140 1,390 
			 Lone Parents 550 160 90 90 200 
			 Carers 90 20 20 10 40 
			 Other Income Related Benefits 50 30 10 * 10 
			 Notes: "*" = Denotes nil or negligible. 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. Statistical Group is a hierarchical variable. A person who fits into more than one category will only appear in the top-most one for which they are eligible. 3. Out of work benefits which are included in this analysis are: Jobseeker’s Allowance Employment and Support Allowance Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance Income Support 4. Incapacity Benefit was replaced by Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) for new claims from October 2008. 5. Durations shown are the longest claim duration of the benefits of interest. 6. The figures for Surrey are a total of the following local authorities: Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Guildford, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Waverley and Woking. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Universal Credit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the IT system supporting universal credit is capable of identifying multiple claims made from a single address; and what representations he has received from local authorities on this matter in the last two years.

Mark Hoban: The IT system will check for duplicate claims at a household level, checking the individuals to ensure they do not appear on another claim. However, the system will not check solely by address, as it is possible for multiple households to reside at the same address legitimately.
	The Department has anti-fraud measures in place to detect suspicious patterns which includes assessing multiple claims at the same address.
	DWP, DCLG and local authorities (including the Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Welsh Local Government Association) and the devolved Administrations are working closely together to successfully deliver universal credit.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under his proposals for universal credit, what changes of circumstances will trigger a loss of transitional protection.

Mark Hoban: We believe it is correct to cushion claimants who are affected by a change that the DWP is making when the claimant has had no changes in circumstance. However, it is appropriate to end this protection when the circumstances underlying an award are no longer recognisable as those on which the legacy calculation was made. Therefore transitional protection will end altogether if a claimant's circumstances change significantly. The following occurrences are defined as a significant change of circumstances:
	a partner leaving or joining the household;
	a sustained (three-month) earnings drop beneath the level of work that is expected according to their claimant commitment;
	the universal credit award ending; and/or
	one (or both) members of the household stopping work.
	Once transitional protection has ended it will not be applied to any future awards.

Winter Fuel Payments: High Peak

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in High Peak constituency are eligible for winter fuel payments.

Steve Webb: Over 95% of winter fuel payments are made automatically, without the need to claim, based on information held in DWP records. A small number of people whose circumstances we do not know need to make a claim. It is not possible to give the exact number of eligible people, but we have no reason to estimate that eligibility is materially different from the number of payments made.
	Information on the number of winter fuel payments paid is provided in the documents “Winter Fuel Payment recipients 2011-12 by Parliamentary Constituencies and Gender (All)”. This is available on the internet at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=wfp

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work capability assessments were successfully appealed in (a) Bolton South East constituency, (b) Bolton, (c) Greater Manchester and (d) the UK as a proportion of the total number of assessments carried out in 2011-12.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows the number of initial employment and support allowance (ESA) work capability assessments (WCAs) carried out between April 2011 and March 2012 in (i) Bolton, (ii) Greater Manchester and (iii) Great Britain. The table further shows the number of appeals heard and overturned on initial fit for work (FFW) decisions made in 2011-12. The numbers for overturned appeals shown in the table are likely to change once all ongoing appeals against FFW decisions taken in 2011-12 have been heard. Information on appeals against other decisions is not available; therefore totals are provided instead proportions. Constituency level information on WCA outcomes is not available.
	
		
			 Initial ESA WCAs carried out between April 2011 and March 2012 and appeals heard and overturned on initial FFW decisions taken over this period 
			  Number of initial WCAs carried out in 2011-12 Appeals heard and overturned on initial FFW decisions in 2011-12 
			 Bolton 2,280 90 
			 Greater Manchester 22,190 990 
			 Great Britain 349,780 22,100 
			 Note: All volumes are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: The data presented above comes from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions and HMCTS's appeals case load data.

Work Capability Assessment: Montgomeryshire

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work capability assessments were carried out in Montgomeryshire constituency in the last year for which figures are available; how many such assessments resulted in a fit for work decision; how many of these decisions were subsequently appealed; and how many of these appeals resulted in the over-turning of the original decision.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support his Department plans to provide to jobseekers who remain unemployed in June 2013 after two years on the Work programme.

Mark Hoban: Following a small-scale trial to understand how best to support very long-term Jobseeker's allowance claimants reaching the end of the Work programme, an evaluation was published on 6 December 2012:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/report_abstracts/rr_abstracts/rra_824.asp
	These results will help inform decisions on the development of a national programme of support for Work programme leavers from the summer of 2013.

Work Programme: Surrey

Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what reduction in long-term unemployment there has been since the start of the Work programme in (a) Woking constituency and (b) Surrey.

Mark Hoban: Since June 2011 the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than a year has risen from 140 to 170 in Woking and from 1,605 to 2,310 in Surrey. Comparisons over this period are distorted by changes in the way people on government programmes are treated in the statistics. Under previous programmes the number of long-term JSA claimants was held down by requiring those reaching certain durations to move into a temporary job or take up support funded by a training allowance. This caused a break in the JSA claim and those who later returned to benefit were treated as a new claim with zero starting duration. People joining the Work programme do not have their claim broken artificially in this way, continuing to receive JSA until they move into a regular job. This has led to a rise in the number of JSA claims with a continuous duration of more than a year, but means the figures now give a more accurate reflection of the true level of long-term benefit receipt.

CABINET OFFICE

Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2012, Official Report, column 111W, on cyber crime, what discussions he has held with (a) the Attorney-General and (b) the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the collection of statistics on internet-related or cyber crime.

Chloe Smith: In line with the practice of previous Administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Cybercrime

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department are working on cyber security.

Chloe Smith: The Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance (OCSIA) in the Cabinet Office co-ordinates cross-government work on cyber security and information assurance and manages the £650 million transformative National Cyber Security programme and the delivery of the Cyber Security strategy. OCSIA currently has 34 full-time equivalent staff.
	There are other staff across the Cabinet Office whose roles also contribute to the delivery of elements of the programme and strategy.

Emergency Services: Telecommunications

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what provision he has made for telecommunications support to emergency and bluelight services.

Francis Maude: Effective communication within and between emergency responders is necessary for managing day-to-day operations as well as coordinating the response to major incidents. The nature of the telecommunications services to achieve this is determined by the senior officers of the emergency services who use them.
	The Cabinet Office provides additional resilient telecoms capability to support emergency services and other key organisations.

Plants

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much No 10 Downing Street has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since the appointment of the Prime Minister.

Francis Maude: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
	As was the case under the previous Administration, this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Training

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many away days (a) his Department and (b) No. 10 Downing Street has held since 2010; and what the cost was of each such event.

Francis Maude: No. 10 is an integral part of my Department.
	For details of events held since 2010 to February 2012, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 February 2012, Official Report, column 600W, to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger). Between March and December 2012 three away days were held outside of the Cabinet Office Estate. These cost a total of £2,483.
	It is worth noting that although complete data for the Cabinet Office prior to 2010 is not available, this Department spend on away days was at least £37,675 in 2007-08, £19,479 in 2008-09 and £227,680 in 2009-10.

UK Membership of EU

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what contingency plans his Department (a) has made, (b) is making and (c) intends to make for British withdrawal from the European Union; whether those contingency plans will be published; and what assessment he has made of the cost of implementing those contingency plans.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 January 2013, Official Report, column 694W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many organisations have (a) applied for and (b) been granted funding from the Catalyst Arts Fund to date.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 25 January 2013
	The Catalyst programme is a joint venture between Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. There have been (a) 384 applications from organisations and (b) 191 grants awarded from the Catalyst Fund to date.

Arts

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the role of arts and culture in local regeneration; and what the outcome was of such discussions.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 25 January 2013
	Ministers within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly meet colleagues from the Department for Communities and Local Government to discuss a range of matters.

Broadband

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions her Department has had with BT about their contracts with Broadband UK to deliver superfast broadband across the UK.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has regular discussions with BT about all aspects of the local broadband projects including, where relevant, issues relating to the contracts.

Clothing and Textiles Industry

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations she has received on an annual round table discussion between the Government and the fashion and textile industry.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 24 January 2013
	Government support for the creative industries is primarily channelled through the Creative Industries Council (CIC), which includes representations from the British Fashion Council. The CIC was established as a joint forum between the creative industries and government to address areas where there are barriers facing the sector and to help the growth of creative businesses of all sizes. Jointly chaired by the Secretaries of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Nicola Mendelsohn, chair of the IPA, the council focuses on finding practical solutions to issues across the sector including skills and access to finance. Sub-groups of the council produced reports into both these areas this year, which were welcomed by the council and work is continuing to be taken forward.

Conditions of Employment

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people are employed on zero-hour contracts in her Department.

Hugh Robertson: The Department has no employees with a zero hour's contract.

Culture: Local Enterprise Partnerships

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which local enterprise partnerships include a cultural provision as part of their growth and jobs strategy; and what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on increasing any such provision.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 25 January 2013
	Details about the jobs and growth strategies of Local Enterprise Partnerships can be accessed via the LEP Network at:
	www.lepnetwork.org.uk
	DCMS Ministers have regular discussions with BIS Ministers on how we can support the creative and cultural sectors.

Intellectual Property and Growth Review

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what analysis her Department has conducted of the Hargreaves review, Digital Opportunity: A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth; and which elements of that review she plans to take forward.

Jo Swinson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Hargreaves review set out much of its analysis in its report and accompanying documents
	http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipreview.htm
	The Government's intentions concerning the Hargreaves review were set out in its response to the review which was published in August 2011. The initial response and subsequent publications on the review, such as the copyright consultation and Government responses to consultation—along with their accompanying impact assessments set out the Government's analysis of the Hargreaves review and provide more detail on how the Government intends to implement the review's findings in the light of consultation. All documents related to the Hargreaves review, subsequent Government responses and publications on implementation have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Internet: North Yorkshire

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households in (a) Middlesbrough and (b) Redcar and Cleveland boroughs do not have access to the internet.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 29 January 2013
	Ofcom's Communication Infrastructure Report 2012 stated that current generation broadband is available in close to 100% of premises in the UK. Ofcom estimated that 1.3% of UK premises were in potential broadband notspots, but noted that where broadband is not available via fixed access networks, customers may have access via other technologies such as satellite and mobile services or local community schemes.

Sports: North West

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the announcement on 10 January 2013 by Sport England, how much of the £45 million Improvement Fund for medium-sized facilities will be spent in (a) Pendle constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.

Hugh Robertson: Sport England is currently in the process of considering a number of applications to the Improvement Fund. As a result, we do not hold this data as the funding decisions are yet to be made. We will be making the funding decisions in March 2013 and will publish a full breakdown following this.

Telecommunications

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it is her intention that secondary legislation under clause 8 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill will be limited to specific forms of communications infrastructure.

Edward Vaizey: I can confirm that it is our intention to use clause 8 to consult on amending the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 to change planning requirements for broadband cabinets and poles in protected areas, excluding SSSIs—as outlined in the Government's 7 September broadband support package announcement.

Telecommunications

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she plans to publish her Department's response to its consultation on relaxing the restrictions on deployment of overhead telecommunications lines; and when she plans to bring forward changes to regulations outlined in that consultation.

Edward Vaizey: The Department will publish a consultation before the end of January proposing changes to siting requirements to allow, for a time-limited period, the installation of broadband cabinets and new poles under permitted development rights in any location other than a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The consultation will summarise the main findings of the Government's earlier consultation published in November 2011, which proposed a change to existing requirements for the deployment of overhead telecommunications lines. It will also explain the basis for needing to take the original proposals further in order to help deliver the package of measures I announced on 7 September last year and to meet the Government's overarching broadband ambitions.

Telecommunications

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what primary and secondary legislation is relevant to the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure in protected landscapes.

Edward Vaizey: The Electronic Communications Code (“the Code”), as set out in schedule 2 to the Telecommunications Act 1984, as amended by the Communications Act 2003, gives communications network operators special rights to assist with the installation of their networks. It enables them to construct infrastructure on public land (streets), and to take rights over private land. Operators with rights under the Code also benefit from certain Permitted Development Rights under Town and Country Planning legislation.
	The relevant secondary legislation related to the Code is the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003. Complementary to this is Part 24 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995, covering the Permitted Development Rights of operators with rights under the Code.
	A wide range of other primary and secondary legislation will also apply to the deployment of communications infrastructure but it is the Code which provides the underpinning statutory regime under which most operators deploy their network infrastructure.

Telecommunications

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many meetings her Ministerial colleagues and officials have had with (a) Everything Everywhere, (b) O2, (c) Three and (d) Vodafone in the last 12 months.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 25 January 2013
	The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), Ministers and departmental officials have met all of the named companies frequently over the past 12 months to discuss a range of issues both in direct meetings and in the margins of other meetings. The Department does not hold centrally a list of all meetings held by officials and to collate this information for the period requested would incur disproportionate cost. The Department publishes details of all ministerial meetings with external organisations, since May 2010, on its transparency website at the following link:
	http://www.transparency.culture.gov.uk/category/other/meetings/

Theatre

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to promote access to theatre.

Edward Vaizey: Consistent with the Government's funding arrangements for the arts, improving access to theatre and the arts is supported by strategic projects run by Arts Council England: for example, a £45 million strategic “Touring” programme, launched last year to help get high quality work to those parts of the country which depend on touring; and the £37 million “Creative People and Places” fund set up to get more people taking part in the arts in parts of the country where participation is well below the national average.
	In addition, a number of national portfolio organisations receive funding to help connect children and young people and schools and communities with art and culture through a range of measures including relationship building between schools, community groups and arts organisations; and promoting opportunities for them to experience theatre and the arts. Many theatres funded by Arts Council England also run their own schemes to attract new audiences.

World Heritage Sites

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make an assessment of the economic contribution of heritage sites in each region of the UK.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 24 January 2013
	DCMS has no immediate plans to carry out an assessment of the economic contribution of heritage sites in each region of the UK. However, the Annual Business Survey estimates that historic sites contributed £162 million to economy in GVA terms in 2011; but this does not take account of the wider impacts that heritage has on the economy. For example, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Visit Britain have estimated that UK heritage tourism directly accounts for £4.3 billion of GDP and creates employment for 113,000 people. While these estimates are not broken down on a regional level, English Heritage publish yearly regional “Heritage Counts” reports which includes, amongst other data, asset data, funding information, employment numbers and visitor figures. The reports are available at
	http://hc.english-heritage.org.uk